Heat Wave 2021

Data Tables l Public Health Message

Note: The information below is the final report on deaths due to the 2021 heat wave.

From June 26 to July 2, 2021 the National Weather Service in Seattle reported a long-duration, unprecedented heat wave throughout the Pacific Northwest. This extreme heat event resulted in a high to very high risk of heat-related impacts/illness for much of the population, especially those that are heat sensitive and those without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration.

Extreme heat events (heat waves) are predicted to happen more often and last longer due to our changing climate. Climate change is a global environmental and public health threat. Learn more about climate change and health impacts.

Deaths are reported to the state by health care providers, medical examiners/coroners, local health departments, and others. For this reason, the statewide count of deaths often lags behind the counts of local health departments.

We anticipate that more deaths will continue to get reported. We are not reporting probable heat-related deaths.

Between June 26 and July 2, there were 100 heat-related deaths. For the 38 deaths occurring over a week after the start of the June heat wave (July 3 and later), we are reviewing the interval time period between heat-related causes and death. The assessment of interval can be difficult as it is often non-specific and may only indicate a general timeframe (e.g. days or weeks). Currently, 4 deaths in early July have an unknown interval. Two deaths on July 7 have an interval of hours and occurred in Spokane, indicating the heat was related to that day or the day prior.

On July 16, 2021, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a rapid analysis of emergency department visits during late June's northwestern heat wave.

According to the report, the mean daily number of heat-related illness emergency department visits from June 25-30, 2021 in Region 10 was 69 times higher than that during the same days in 2019. The most affected groups were males and people age 75 and older. Region 10 includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.