At least 19 Marylanders have died of heat-related illness so far this summer, according to the latest data from the Maryland Department of Health. Last week, 13 people were recorded as having died from heat-related causes.

Last year, 27 people in Maryland died during the heat season, which runs from May to September.

Heat is the deadliest form of extreme weather, and Maryland has seen an alarming start to the summer. The number of heat-related deaths in the state at this point in the summer is higher than in recent years. There were 14 deaths reported around the same period in 2024, five in 2023, one in 2022, seven in 2021 and five in 2020.

Of those who have died this year, five were in Baltimore City, three were in Baltimore County and two were in Montgomery and Washington counties. No other county had more than one heat-related death.

A large majority — 16 — of the people who have died of heat-related illness were 65 or older. Sixteen of them were men, and 14 of them were white.

Maryland has also recorded 1,250 visits to emergency departments or urgent care facilities for heat-related reasons so far this summer, according to state data.

That’s more than all of 2024, which saw 1,206 total visits. The previous years — 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020 — all saw fewer than 1,000 visits.

The latest data from MDH runs through July 26, meaning if anyone died of heat-related illness during the last few days, they are not yet included.

A (likely short) break in the heat

An extreme heat advisory covered most of Maryland earlier this week, with heat index values, or “feels like temperature,” of up to 109 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

In the Baltimore region, temperatures broke 90 degrees before noon Wednesday. A cooler weekend is expected after storms and showers Thursday and Friday.

However, high heat and “plentiful” sunshine have led the Maryland Department of the Environment to say the air quality in Baltimore and the surrounding metro area is “unhealthy for sensitive groups” because of high ozone levels.

Surface-level ozone can irritate a person’s airways and make it difficult to breathe deeply. It can also exacerbate existing conditions, such as asthma.

Air quality is expected to improve by Friday, according to the MDE forecast.

Long-range forecasters with the National Weather Service anticipated the hot and humid conditions for Maryland and the northeastern part of the country, and published a seasonal outlook in May.

A monthly temperature forecast for August shows Maryland as having an above-average chance of seeing above-average temperatures.

Experts predict that human-caused climate change will continue making Maryland hotter and wetter, increasing the risk of heat-related illness.