The Heat Will Kill You First summary

In the summer of 2021, the Pacific Northwest experienced a severe heatwave that caused widespread panic and destruction. Temperatures reached record levels, including 114°F in Portland. A heat wave, born over the Pacific, drifted inland and grew in intensity, creating a heat dome. Ice was the first casualty, and as snowpacks melted, glaciers released torrents of silty water that flooded towns.

Salmon, sensing the water temperature change, began migrating early. But then they struggled to breathe as the rivers warmed. Vegetation was next – unable to escape the heat, it struggled to retain water. Bighorn sheep moved to higher ground, doves panted like dogs, baby hawks jumped to their deaths in an attempt to fly to escape overheating with their siblings.

In 72 hours, the official human death toll was 1,000 – but the actual number is likely higher, especially among the elderly, poor, and medically vulnerable. The town of Lytton, British Columbia was incinerated when temperatures there hit 121°F. Over a billion sea creatures met their deaths over the three days.

Such a heatwave in the Pacific Northwest had been thought to be as likely as snow in the Sahara. But then it happened. Right now, scientists can’t predict where or when such heat will appear next, but they do know that occurrences such as this are a direct result of human activities.

As fossil-fuel burning increases levels of heat-trapping gasses like CO2, the planet warms. Heat is the prime mover of climate chaos, melting ice, drying soil, and even reviving ancient bacteria from thawed permafrost.

Humans might be able to engineer their way out of anything – cities like Los Angeles and Paris are already working to deflect sunlight and have more shade trees. But there are limits to adaptation for Earth’s population of nearly 8 billion. Parts of the Middle East and South Asia are already too hot for humans in summer. And in 2022, 63 percent of China’s population suffered under an extreme two-month heatwave.

Although wealthier individuals might be able to afford protective measures, poverty equates to vulnerability. Heather McTeer Toney, former mayor of Greenville, Mississippi, summed this up neatly: “We’re all in the storm, but we’re not in the same boat.”

And if all that isn’t enough for you to take the climate crisis seriously, just consider these facts: From an economic point of view, researchers estimate heatwaves have cost the global economy $16 trillion since the 1990s. In 2019 alone, extreme heat killed over 489,000 people globally, exceeding deaths from all other natural disasters combined. And heat exposure raises risks of disease, cognitive decline, violence, and suicide.

In the rest of this Blink to The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell, we’ll look at how life, and humans in particular, have adapted to climate change, how and why we might see mass migration, and why urgent action is required to curb emissions and prevent the deadliest consequences as temperatures continue rising.