Last week, two people died from heat-related injuries in the sweltering city of Baltimore.
There were nine heat-related deaths in Maryland in 2024, matching the total number of deaths in 2023, according to the Maryland State Department of Health. All nine victims were 45 or older, according to the department.
A third victim in Kent County also died from the heat between July 7 and 13, when 192 people across the state went to emergency rooms for urgent care for heat-related illnesses, according to the department. Temperatures hit the 90s in Baltimore seven afternoons last week, causing the heat index, which measures temperature and humidity, to exceed 100, according to the National Weather Service.
The department said data on heat-related illnesses and deaths was collected from 49 emergency rooms and 24 urgent care centers and included patients with signs or symptoms of high fever, heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Last year, 820 people in the state were hospitalized for heat illness; this year, the number is 762.
Emergency room doctors urge caution as they see increase in heat-related illnesses
The state tallied 21 heat-related deaths in both 2019 and 2020, with the total dropping to 16 in 2021 and five in 2022, according to health department data.
In 2024, there were four heat-related deaths in Prince George's County, three in Baltimore City, and one in both Kent and Anne Arundel counties.
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