With 59 lost to heat, 2026 was Maryland’s deadliest summer on record

In late May, state officials reported heat’s first victim of the year, an older man in Calvert County.

The man, whose name and age weren’t disclosed, would be the first of dozens killed by heat in Maryland this summer, a record-breaking toll.

At least 59 people have died because of complications from heat since the start of May, according to the health department — a sharp jump from the 36 reported heat deaths last year, which was the state’s deadliest year for heat in over a decade. The Maryland health department reports heat deaths from May to September going back to 2012.

And, as Marylanders prepare for Labor Day weekend and mark the unofficial end of summer, the death toll could climb. The heat index in the Baltimore and Washington areas climbed to 100 degrees Thursday afternoon.

Ben Zaitchik, a Johns Hopkins University professor researching the impacts of climate change on urban neighborhoods, said this year’s spike was surprising — even with everything he knows about the effects of global warming.

There are no clear answers to what caused this jump, but the toll shattered the state record of 46 heat-related deaths in 2012, when a June derecho storm knocked out power for nearly 2 million Marylanders, many for more than a week. Unlike that “black swan” event, Zaitchik said, this summer’s losses don’t seem to have stemmed from one obvious incident.

Still, it’s been hot.

Through the end of July, Maryland experienced six more days than normal of what state climatologist Alfredo Ruiz-Barradas classifies as “hot”: 86 degrees or higher. Maryland also saw two more heat waves — or two or more such hot days in a row — than typical, Ruiz-Barradas said.

July was especially bad. A heat wave over the Fourth of July weekend brought triple-digit temperatures to Baltimore and much of Maryland. The climatologist’s tracking found overnight temperatures remained above 68 degrees for more than a week straight.

Even if a day in the high 80s doesn’t sound extreme, hot afternoons followed by warm nights are a dangerous combination for people who work outdoors or lack access to reliable air conditioning, Ruiz-Barradas said.

By the end of July, state officials reported 48 people had died — a total that on its own would have set a state record.

“It’s been real hot,” said April Vincent, a 49-year-old resident of the Douglass Homes public housing complex near the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Vincent, who sat barefoot on her stoop Thursday afternoon, said she’s noticed more stifling heat in Baltimore than she remembers from her childhood.

“The heat is different for our city,” she said.

As climate change fuels longer and hotter summers in Maryland, Baltimore has borne the brunt. According to a July report by Ruiz-Barradas, Baltimore temperatures have increased at a rate of more than 3 degrees per century in the last 130 years — a faster clip than any other part of the state.

Baltimore officials operate cooling centers throughout the summer. City Health Commissioner Michelle Taylor said they drew around 4,900 visitors. The city also distributed thousands of water bottles.

Still, Baltimore saw 11 heat deaths, more than any other jurisdiction in the state — but a total Taylor said is average for the city’s summers. Taylor and other health officials cautioned that older people, pregnant people, infants and people with underlying conditions are especially vulnerable.

Statewide, the majority of people who died were 65 or older, a population that tends to be more susceptible to the health hazards of heat and more likely to live alone or without reliable air conditioning.

Of Maryland’s total deaths this summer, 28 happened indoors and 37 were of people 65 or older.

For years, landlords across most of Maryland weren’t required to provide air conditioning to tenants, even as the state mandated they provide heat in the winter.

That changed June 1, when a law took effect imposing mandatory air conditioning in all new buildings with 10 or more units. The law also says existing buildings must outfit their units with air conditioning the next time they undergo significant maintenance to their electrical or heating systems.

Democratic Del. Mary Lehman sponsored that legislation in Annapolis and modeled it on ordinances in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties that have mandated air conditioning for years. Lehman, who represents Prince George’s County, said she was stunned by this summer’s death toll and worries how long it could take to ensure older buildings are equipped with sufficient air conditioning.

Among the landlords that could have to supply air conditioning under that new law is the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.

Vincent, the Douglass Homes resident, bought her own window unit for her living room but said she can’t afford to get another for her bedroom.

Leo Brown, 57, joined a group at a picnic table in the shade nearby Thursday afternoon. He’s lived in the public housing complex Latrobe Homes for six years.

“A lot of people are out here just to be cool,” Brown said.

In many cases, it’s not just about how hot it is during the day but whether things cool off enough at night, said Clifford Mitchell, director of the Maryland Department of Health’s Environmental Health Bureau. If people don’t have a chance to recover from scorching afternoons, the tax on their bodies can be fatal.

Even during extreme heat waves, Mitchell said, simple steps such as checking in with neighbors and older relatives should save lives.

“We know what to do to prevent every single one of these deaths,” he said.

Why this summer’s heat was so deadly isn’t clear, but power outages could have something to do with it.

Tens of thousands of people were left without power at least temporarily when a torrential storm tore through Baltimore Gas and Electric’s territory during the July 4 heat wave. According to reporting by the Baltimore Brew, residents of Baltimore’s Upper Fells Point neighborhood experienced periodic outages for much of the first half of July.

Still, many heat-induced deaths go unreported, and Zaitchik said some of this year’s increase may be driven by better identification as awareness about the dangers of heat grows.

Zaitchik and his research team monitor micro climates at more than 50 weather stations across the city and have found that, during heat waves, some East Baltimore neighborhoods can hit highs close to 10 degrees greater than leafy neighborhoods such as Roland Park.

These heat hazards have worsened faster than Maryland communities have been able to adapt, Zaitchik said. Still, the Hopkins professor said heat deaths can be stopped relatively easily, by getting struggling people into air conditioning and supplying them with water.

“This is solvable,” he said. “We know what to do. Now we just need to do it.”