September 1, 2022 | Originally published on Medium (Island Press)
By: Nneoma Nwachuku Ojiaku, MD
Sacramento is sick. Heat sick.
Last summer our city endured some of the hottest temperatures on record, with July 2021 posting the second-highest temperature ever — 113 degrees — for downtown Sacramento. By century’s end, Sacramento could be grappling with the limits of human survivability if comprehensive action is not taken now on extreme heat.
Heatwaves are more than a mere inconvenience: they are deadly. Extreme heat claims more lives than any other weather-related event. Heatwaves can cause heat stroke, in which the body overheats, damaging multiple organ systems. Exposure to extreme heat exacerbates pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Also, some medications, especially vital psychiatric drugs, affect temperature regulation, putting people at increased risk of heat-related illness and death…READ THE FULL ARTICLE>
Nneoma Nwachuku Ojiaku, MD, MPH (she/her) is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist based in Sacramento with interests in patient education, environmental justice, and health equity. Dr. Ojiaku is a 2022 Climate and Health Equity Fellow with the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
This op-ed was published in collaboration with the Island Press Urban Resilience Project (URP), which is supported by The Kresge Foundation and The JPB Foundation.