Heat

The impacts of climate change on human health are severe: Extreme heat events put stress on the body, increasing the risk of heat stroke, hospitalization for heart disease, kidney failure and poor mental health. In the U.S., deaths due to extreme heat increased 117% from 1999 to 2023.

Dr. Jeremy Hess, UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) professor and climate researcher, knows how prolonged heat exposure can impact the body.

This summer, I embraced the UW EarthLab’s mission to “push the boundaries” as an EarthLab intern with the Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE).

In the Pacific Northwest, cherries, peaches, plums and many other fruits mean summer — thanks to the people who harvest them. As climate change makes our region’s summers increasingly hot and smoky, researchers and policymakers are becoming more concerned about the health impacts on these agricultural workers. 

At the end of this month, Michael Yost will be stepping down after a 10-year term as chair of the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS).

Hannah McKinleyBS, Environmental HealthHometownSnohomish, WAFuture plansPursuing an MPH in DEOHS and an MPA in the UW Evans School.“I feel very lucky to have found a place to explore so many of my academic interests.”- Hannah McKinley

2023 has been a year of community resilience for the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS). Together with many partners, our students, faculty and staff spearheaded projects to help Pacific Northwest communities respond and adapt to extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke and other impacts of climate change.

University of Washington School of Public Health faculty member Kristie Ebi was recently elected as a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

DEOHS is collaborating with cross-sector partners to prepare for a hotter future in the Pacific Northwest

Heat is a quiet killer. Unlike most natural disasters, which can leave visible damage across an entire region, a heat wave’s effects on human health can be difficult to track.

A new $2.3 million program funded by the US National Science Foundation will educate and equip young scientists to cultivate resilience to climate impacts such as flooding and extreme heat.

Two teams of researchers in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and their partners have been awarded grants from the University of Washington Population Health Initiative to support research on the health impacts of wildfire smoke and extreme heat.

Associate Teaching Professor Tania Busch Isaksen Heat-related deaths are widespread across Washington state, and they occur even in regions that typically have milder climates, according to a new

Diana Marquez MS, Applied Occupational Hygiene Hometown Grandview, WA Future plans A career with Washington State Department of Labor & Industries “The most meaningful thing has been getting to change workers’ perspectives around the work we do in occupational health and safety.”

DEOHS Assistant Professor Nicole Errett How do you plan ahead for the unforeseen?

Learn more about our work on the health impacts of extreme heat Extreme heat kills more people in the US than any other weather event. Scientists expect climate change to make this worse; already, 37% of heat-related deaths are thought to be due to climate change.

Juliette Randazza MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health Master in Public Administration Hometown Andover, MA Future plans Entering public service in local or state government, working on environmental policy and management and their impact on health

Two international research projects co-led by researchers in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) were recently awarded Tier I pilot grants from the UW Population Health Initiative (PHI). The grants support researchers in laying an interdisciplinary foundation for a future project to generate proof of concept.

Register now to join us Tuesday, March 8, for a panel discussion about the IPCC report with four co-authors from UW DEOHS

Farmers struggling to adapt to rising temperatures in tropical regions can unleash the benefits of natural cooling, alongside a host of other wins, simply by dotting more trees across their pasturelands. For the first time, a study led by the University of Washington puts tangible numbers to the cooling effects of this practice.

In 2021, the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) welcomed new faculty, forged collaborations in climate and health, and continued our innovative, community-oriented environmental health research on areas including air pollution, COVID-19 and the far-reaching health impacts of wildfire smoke across Washington state. Explore our top stories below.

The evidence has been clear for some time: Climate change presents a dire threat to human health. Unfortunately, as a result of inaction on the issue, the prognosis is getting worse.

Outdoor workers in the world’s lower-latitude tropical forests may face a greater risk of heat-related deaths and unsafe working conditions because of deforestation and climate warming, according to a new study led by The Nature Conservancy, the University of Washington and Indonesia’s Mulawarman U

Watch a recording of the Lancet Series on Heat and Health webinar   The extreme heat wave that hit the Pacific Northwest this summer made news not only for its record-breaking temperatures, but also for the

Without the cooling powers of trees, workers in deforested areas are less productive, according to new research from the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and other collaborators.

Right now, some 140,000 agricultural workers are picking apples, peaches and other crops at the peak of Washington’s harvest season, just as Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency in response to wildfires burning across the state.