As extreme heat rises, so do concerns for worker safety

Near the end of his first day working at the construction site, John Guerrero Jr. stopped sweating. He didn’t know the danger he was in.

It was late May, and temperatures had reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit as he helped to install interior walls, ceilings, and doors at the site in east Austin, according to a federal investigation. Drinking water and Gatorade during his three breaks wasn’t enough. By the end of the day, he died of heat stroke.

Mr. Guerrero was one of at least 279 people to die due to heat in Texas last year, according to The Texas Tribune. And at least 42 Texas workers died from heat-related illnesses on the job between 2011 and 2018, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given that there is no perfect way to measure heat-related deaths, both figures are likely undercounts.

This statistical uncertainty – estimates of how many people die from heat each year in the United States range from 153concern, across the country about the dangers posed by extreme heat. As summers have become hotter , one fact has become increasingly clear: The U.S. treats heat emergencies differently from other natural disasters.