California Heat Wave Causes More Than 100 Deaths

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- California's record-breaking heat caused at least 112 deaths, after temperatures in some regions sweltered above 100 degrees Fahrenheit for almost two weeks, figures from the state's Office of Emergency Services show.

California county coroners and medical examiners' offices confirmed 62 deaths from heat-related issues, and 50 more are likely to be confirmed. Most of the deaths were in California's Central Valley, where residents faced little relief at night from days of triple-digit temperatures.

``Last year we had more than 20 days of temperatures above 100 degrees, but just one heat-related death,'' said Coroner Loralee Cervantes of Fresno County, which along with Stanislaus County reported the most heat-related deaths. ``This year the problem was that temperatures at night weren't falling, so homes remained hot, and there was no relief.''

At least 27 people are suspected to have died from heat stroke or heat-related issues in Fresno, with the outcome of autopsies on 12 still pending, Cervantes said. Heat-stroke victims included a 38-year-old farm worker who collapsed on the job and two people who died after passing out on the city's streets.

``It's been unusual here to say the least,'' Cervantes said.

Record Temperatures

Temperatures in Fresno touched 112 degrees on July 22 and reached 113 for the next three days, breaking a record set in 1931, said Gary Sanger, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Hanford, California.

Some victims in Fresno, whose ages range from 38 to 79 years, were found in homes without air conditioning where the ambient temperature was as high as 120 degrees, Cervantes said.

A high-pressure weather system blanketed much of California during the past week or so, allowing heat and humidity to build and keeping temperatures high at night. Sunday night in Fresno, the low was 90 degrees, which is ``the hottest it's been at night since we began keeping records in the 1870s,'' Sanger said.

Doctors and pathologists in the Fresno County morgue, which was built in 1948 and itself doesn't have air conditioning, have been working in temperatures of more than 90 degrees as the number of bodies arriving grows.

``The big influx started Sunday night,'' Cervantes said. The morgue, which is designed to accommodate 50 bodies, had 58 yesterday, leading the pathology team to work extra shifts.

``In Fresno we have this heat every summer, but this year it was record-breaking and killing people,'' Cervantes said.

Temperatures will cool as much as 4 degrees in the next few days, bringing some relief to the region as they drop to the mid- 90s by this Sunday, the weather service said.

Bloomberg News

Sad to read about the deaths from heat-related issues, I wonder how many could have been prevented?

What's the weather been like in the UK Geoff?