The record-shattering Pacific Northwest heatwave in late June caused a massive increase in emergency room visits, a new CDC report shows. Emergency departments across the region received 3,504 patients with heat-related illnesses in May and June with 79% of those occurring during the six most intense days of the heatwave. Washington and Oregon ERs saw 1,038 visits on June 28 alone, compared to just nine on June 28, 2019. The heatwave affected wildlife as well. Young birds of prey across the West jumped out of their nests to flee the extreme heat, the Washington Post reported. “I think these events really are wake-up calls,” Bob Sallinger, director of conservation at Portland Audubon, said. “That climate change is here, that the impacts are becoming more and more visible.” (Emergency Departments: Axios, The Verge, Bloomberg $; Birds: Washington Post $; Climate Signals background: June 2021 PNW heatwave, Extreme heat and heatwaves)
