As temperature records shattered, Santa Clara County saw huge increase in heat deaths last year

Last year was the hottest yet recorded around the world and in Santa Clara County deaths were determined to be heat-related after several heat waves brought daily high temperatures in San Jose above in July and again in October On July alone three deaths were attributed to extreme heat in the county Overall the death toll from last year s heat is a massive increase from the total heat deaths published in the county over the previous six years from to Of those heat deaths were in San Jose in Mountain View in Milpitas and one each in Gilroy Los Altos Morgan Hill Palo Alto Santa Clara and Sunnyvale according to records from Santa Clara County Diagnostic Examiner-Coroner s Office There were also heat deaths in Alameda County last year Related Articles Bay Area beaches get new influx of blobby sea creatures For Bay Area it s almost time to put a fork in colder temperatures Sierra Nevada snowpack sees greater part bountiful three years in a row in years For Bay Area weather it s a reverse lesson Boat capsizes near Santa Cruz County beach San Mateo County did not identify any heat deaths in or in the preceding years but did account heat deaths in when a September heat wave killed over a dozen people in the region In the last couple years we ve seen the the bulk extreme heats on record disclosed Dr Grant Lipman an crisis room physician with Santa Clara Valley Healthcare And with these heat events we re certainly seeing a lot of heat illness in the emergency room Lipman who has done research on heat illness says various groups are more at menace unhoused people those who work outside the very old and the very young Lipman noted his research has shown that one of the best means to cool someone down is cold-water immersion We put them in a body bag we fill it with ice Lipman mentioned describing the method he has used In about minutes we drop their temperature we dry them off zip up the bag and throw it out he noted Now as spring showers and April flowers turn to hotter and longer days around the Bay Area Lipman declared people should remember to drink water when they are thirsty to replenish electrolytes with salty snacks and get out of the sun if they feel overheated The number one diagnostic warning signal is if someone is confused Lipman stated of when to seek diagnostic care When people cannot or do not follow those precautions their heat illness can become deadly and it is an increasing concern as these extreme heat events become more common because of context change On July last year as temperatures topped degrees in San Jose California s Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara disclosed an analysis of the hidden costs of extreme heat in the state The assessment exposed that between the seven extreme heat events they investigated it cost an estimated billion to administration and industry Extreme heat is a silent escalating catastrophe that threatens our vitality economic activity and way of life in California Lara commented when the statement was published The medicinal examiner s office reported that they were analyzing deaths as possibly heat-related in July but it can take weeks or months for death investigations to be completed In the end they determined that deaths in the county in July were heat-related The Office of the Curative Examiner evaluates a variety of factors when determining whether fatalities are caused by heat a spokesperson wrote in an email