The summer has demonstrated how immediate the climate crisis is. As we experience more frequent heat extremes, the inevitable outcome will be greater harm to human health. New York State’s annual average temperatures are projected to increase 4.1°F to 6.1°F by the 2080s. According to the New York State Climate Impacts Assessment, the number of days with a heat index above 95°F are expected to increase across the state, with the largest increases predicted to occur in New York City, Albany, and Buffalo. Aside from causing its most severe health outcomes of heat stress, heat strokes, and potential death, exposure to extreme heat can also lead to many long-term health impacts like organ damage and exacerbation of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, New York State does not track how hot weather impacts the population’s health statewide. Without these data, it will continue to be a challenge to fully demonstrate how critical mitigation and adaptation to heat is to the health of New Yorkers. 

To address this gap in data, the heat mortality reporting legislation requires the Department of Health to report on the number of heat stress deaths and heat-exacerbated deaths. The legislation expands the definitions of heat death classification to include heat-stress and heat-exacerbated deaths, ensuring that these fatalities are not undercounted. Additionally, the data will be broken down by race, age, and other demographics to distinguish the disparities marginalized communities experience related to extreme heat. 

The comparable NYC bill that tracks heat mortality across the five boroughs has helped to demonstrate how much bigger of a threat heat is to health than we previously could. It has helped to accelerate progress and gain attention to this very important issue and we are certain that gaining these data at a statewide level will further advocacy and protections for our vulnerable New Yorkers. 

The extreme heat mortality reporting legislation (S5056-B/A755-B) was passed by the legislature earlier this year, and now we wait for it to be signed into law by the Governor. 

Send her a letter using this tool asking that she sign the bill ASAP.