Across the United States and Europe, the media is warning of dangerously high temperatures.
“Extreme Heat Is Breaking America,” warns The New York Times. “Lethal heat is Europe’s new climate reality,” adds Politico.
It’s an annual routine: Expect to be inundated with alarming stories about heat domes, heat deaths and heat waves, pointing to the urgency of climate action.
But this narrative will tell you only a misleading fraction of the story.
The impacts of heat waves are stark and immediately visible, meaning they are photogenic and coverage is click-worthy.
Heat kills within just a few days of temperatures going up, because it swiftly alters the electrolytic balance in weaker, often older people.
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These deaths are tragic and often preventable, and we hear about them every summer.
But the media seldom reports on deaths from cold.
Cold kills slowly — often over months.