King County is already planning for the next heat wave

The heat wave in late June was a clear reminder that climate change is a “bigger and even more serious long-term crisis” than Covid, said King County Public Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin.

On Thursday, Duchin said climate change is a recognized health emergency that hits some communities harder than others.

“There’s a large overlap between the neighborhoods and communities of color that are at highest risk for heat-related impacts and those that have been hardest hit by Covid-19,” Duchin said.

That's because of lack of green space, lack of air conditioning, and underlying health conditions.

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That means, to prepare for future heat waves, King County needs more air conditioning, more cooling centers, and more trees in neighborhoods that lack green space, Duchin said.

And, he added, the county should focus on reducing underlying health conditions like heart disease, asthma, and kidney disease, because people with those conditions are more likely to die in the heat.

The county is still trying to figure out how many deaths were caused by the heat wave, Duchin added. To do that, they’re looking at how many more people died than normally would in a three-day period, and they’re evaluating whether heat played a role in deaths from, say, heart attacks or strokes.