Heat related deaths in Michigan could increase over 700% by as early as 2041 due to climate change.
That’s according to a new report from the University of Michigan looking at how climate change will affect Michigan from 2041 through 2070.
Researchers projected how climate change could impact the health of Michigan residents and found an increase in heat related deaths, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations.
Dr. Carina Gronlund is a researcher on the study.
She said the study combined existing data measuring heat related deaths, days with extreme heat in the state currently, and how many of those days are projected for the future.
“A lot of people in Michigan don’t have air conditioning,” Gronlund said. “That’s probably why we see such a strong association between extreme heat and mortality at present.”
Gronlund said increasing the number of cool spaces in the state will be important.
But she said, it will be important to do that without increasing dependence on air conditioning - which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
“Understanding the full impact of climate change on human health can help us understand the importance of mitigation and by mitigation I mean working on decreasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.
In the case of just extreme heat related deaths healthcare costs are expected to grow from $42 million annually to as much as $280 million annually.
Gronlund said the state is aware of the efforts to understand how climate change will impact health.
“One of the co-authors, Lorraine Cameron, is an epidemiologist at the state of Michigan. We definitely have an awareness of this to work on how Michiganders can adapt to climate change,” she said.
Gronlund said another impact will likely be increases in asthma due to more pollen in the air.
She said her team is currently gathering more data to make similar estimates around increases in disease.