Maryland’s extreme weather brings heat-related deaths, illnesses

Maryland has recorded 19 heat-related deaths so far this year, with several occurring during the sweltering first week of July, when large numbers also turned up at emergency rooms showing signs of heat illness.

Health officials said eight deaths occurred between July 1-5, across seven different counties. Temperatures during the Fourth of July weekend topped 100 degrees.

The state’s weather-related illness dashboard, which was updated Wednesday, shows there was one heat death in May and four in June. There have been 14 heat deaths reported so far this month, two more than the 12 recorded last July. Overall, the health department reported 36 heat-related deaths in 2025.

The dashboard includes heat-related deaths determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, so more could be added at a later date.

Heat is one of the most dangerous forms of extreme weather, and it has kept emergency rooms in Maryland busy. The number of emergency room and urgent care visits due to heat-related illnesses spiked from 55 to nearly 500 during the week ending July 4, according to the state’s dashboard. The number dropped after the heat wave to 142 for the week ending July 11.

Dr. Cheyenne Falat, an associate medical director of the University of Maryland Medical Center’s adult emergency department, was working during the heat wave and saw the number of patients jump.

While the center has not reported any heat-related deaths, the number of people who came in with heat-related illnesses was profound, especially on July 3, she said.

“The volumes ramp up in our emergency department, so we saw multiple people for mild heat illnesses,” she said.

The severity of symptoms varied from mild to extreme exhaustion as more people spent time outside for the federal holiday.

Some came in complaining of increased swelling in their legs, muscle cramps, nausea, excessive thirst and lightheadedness.

Others exhibited serious signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration, including neurologic abnormalities and unusually high body temperatures — all signs of heat stroke that, if not treated immediately, can cause death.

Those who came in with signs of potential heat stroke were aggressively cooled with ice water immersion. Falat said her team had to administer that treatment to multiple patients on Friday.

“It really did feel like we had an intense peak of both the number and the severity of heat-related visits,” she said.

More hot weather is on the horizon for Marylanders. The National Weather Service forecasts that temperatures will top 100 this week.

As this scorching summer continues, experts say that it’s important that people try to stay cool. Be sure to go inside if you start to feel dizzy or lightheaded and drink plenty of water — even if you don’t feel thirsty.