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The Dangers Of Extreme Heat

Despite having an air conditioned apartment, eighty-year-old William Holman ventures out in the triple-digital heat to visit with his neighbors in the the courtyard of the Apartamentos Las Americas in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
M. Spencer Green
/
AP
Despite having an air conditioned apartment, eighty-year-old William Holman ventures out in the triple-digital heat to visit with his neighbors in the the courtyard of the Apartamentos Las Americas in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

As summer stretches before us, heat and humidity seem tenacious. Extreme temperatures pose a public health risk, especially for people in cities, in low-income neighborhoods, who lack access to green space or air conditioning.

Professor Sacoby Wilson, director of the Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health laboratory at the University of Maryland explains how concrete and asphalt hold onto heat.

Click here for information about the upcoming symposium. Check out the 2019 series, "Code Red: Baltimore's Climate Divide."

Then, Hopkins emergency-room physician, Dr. Matthew Levy, on staying safe and staying cool.

Check out these links for more information of the health risks of extreme heat:
CDC Tips for Preventing Heat-related Illness
Warning Signs and Symptoms of Heat-related Illness

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.