extreme heat

Efforts to establish protections for outdoor workers in Florida against the impacts of extreme heat have failed at the federal, state, and local levels.

Farmworker advocates are calling on the Florida Legislature to take up a bill that would protect outdoor workers in extreme heat.

According to NOAA, last year marked the 5th hottest year in the state’s recorded history. An unusually warm January followed.

A study of several cities in Florida shows an average rise of as much as 3 degrees in the past century.

High heat combined with high humidity can be a recipe for multiple heat-related health risks. A recent analysis shows that equivalent temperatures, a metric of humid heat, has been increasing since the 1950s and could contribute to dangerous living conditions.

The state experienced above-normal temperatures in July and may possibly continue to feel those hot temperatures through October, according to this month's Southeast Climate Monthly webinar.

A Heat Advisory has been issued across the northern half of the Sunshine State, valid through Thursday evening.

With soaring temperatures comes high heat that could prove a danger to vulnerable people like young children, the elderly and those exposed to the outdoors for long periods of the day.

The need is greater than ever, as the agency adds Wakulla and Gadsden counties to its service area.

An effort that seeks to reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths in Florida is getting bipartisan support. The legislation targets agriculture and other industries with outdoor workers.