Extreme Heat - Deceleration

Thousands of Heat-Related Deaths Go Uncounted in Texas Each Year, New Research Finds

Existing systems record only ‘one-sixth of the statistically estimated heat deaths’ in Texas, a new paper by a Texas A&M researcher finds.

By Greg Harman

/ 27 Feb 2026

Thousands of Heat-Related Deaths Go Uncounted in Texas Each Year, New Research Finds

Bill Barker on Extreme Heat, City Planning, and Policies to Save Lives

Humankind didn't evolve in heat like this. Heat that is increasingly claiming lives. So how can we cool down our cities and keep more people safe?

By Greg Harman

/ 10 Feb 2026

Bill Barker on Extreme Heat, City Planning, and Policies to Save Lives

Hotter for the Holidays: Texas December Temps Up 4-5 Degrees Since 1970

As warming driven by fossil fuels and ecological destruction accelerates, Texas summers are bleeding deeper into fall and winter.

By Greg Harman

/ 10 Jan 2026

Hotter for the Holidays: Texas December Temps Up 4-5 Degrees Since 1970

San Antonio Heat-Death Tracking Effort Advances Over Staff ‘No Action’ Recommendation

Mayor Jones and several Council members said more efforts are needed to understand who is losing their lives to extreme heat to prevent future deaths—even as City Manager Erik Walsh and Metro Health Director Claude Jacob suggested existing heat-facing city programs are enough.

By Greg Harman

/ 17 Oct 2025

San Antonio Heat-Death Tracking Effort Advances Over Staff ‘No Action’ Recommendation

San Antonio City Staff Recommend Against Tracking Heat-Related Deaths, Alleging ‘Very Few’ Deaths

Deaths from extreme heat are widely undercounted across Texas, the U.S., and the world. But those cities that are trying—from NYC to Las Vegas—are finding hundreds of deaths per year to include.

By Greg Harman

/ 14 Oct 2025

San Antonio City Staff Recommend Against Tracking Heat-Related Deaths, Alleging ‘Very Few’ Deaths

Growing Clean Energy Investments and Green Spaces Critical to Protecting Public Health, Panelists Say

Medical professionals, advocates, and policy experts from San Antonio, Texas, share recent successes, challenges, and urge movement to keep residents safe from high heat and punishing pollution.

By Greg Harman

/ 9 Oct 2025

Growing Clean Energy Investments and Green Spaces Critical to Protecting Public Health, Panelists Say

As Trump Works to Crush Climate Efforts, Local Projects Persevere at the Grassroots

Just this week, the president froze billions in funding for renewable-energy projects in Democrat-led states amidst a wider government shutdown, demonstrating why grassroots climate initiatives are increasingly building in resilience from heat, storms, and the government itself.

By Greg Harman

/ 2 Oct 2025

As Trump Works to Crush Climate Efforts, Local Projects Persevere at the Grassroots

After Trump Guts OSHA, Republicans Attack Heat-Related Worker Safety Rules

The Trump administration eviscerated the only agency tasked with studying worker health and safety. Now, Republicans have revived a plan to stop OSHA “overreach.” Advocates fear it could further endanger workers.

By Inside Climate News

/ 20 May 2025

After Trump Guts OSHA, Republicans Attack Heat-Related Worker Safety Rules

Extreme Heat Roars Into Texas with Pre-Summer Reminder of Ongoing Climate Crisis

Sudden heat shock expected to stress bodies across the state this week as 2025 continues to manifest unprecedented levels of extreme heat for Texas and the planet.

By Greg Harman

/ 13 May 2025

Extreme Heat Roars Into Texas with Pre-Summer Reminder of Ongoing Climate Crisis

San Antonio Council Members Call for Tracking of Extreme Heat’s Impact on Residents

Advocates say the effort would begin repairing a system that fails to account for heat-related deaths across the community, a prerequisite for preventing needless suffering and loss of life. But Bexar County’s partnership remains uncertain.

By Greg Harman

/ 24 Apr 2025

San Antonio Council Members Call for Tracking of Extreme Heat’s Impact on Residents

Messages from Jess’s Last Days—A Social Autopsy

A close reading of the last week of Jessica Witzel’s life reveals predictable failures by public agencies, facilitated by the dehumanization housed residents often direct at unhoused neighbors. It also reveals possibilities for neighbors banding together to meet all residents’ ‘true level of need.

By Marisol Cortez

/ 16 Jan 2025

Messages from Jess’s Last Days—A Social Autopsy

Her Body Was 126 Degrees After She Died; Bexar County Medical Examiner Blames Drugs

Jessica Witzel’s autopsy report raises an important question: How many other heat-related deaths among unhoused residents are being erased by the failure to collect and report accurate data on climate-related mortality?

By Marisol Cortez

/ 9 Jan 2025

Her Body Was 126 Degrees After She Died; Bexar County Medical Examiner Blames Drugs