Air Pollution + Heat = Premature Death
WHY?
According to air quality experts TEQOYA, heat can increase air pollution in three ways:
- When weather is hot, primary sources of pollutants tend to increase because people utilize more gas-burning vehicles and electricity via air conditioning. Motors in vehicles and HVAC units produce heat in addition to pollutants, compounding the problem.
- Sun and heat can transform primary air pollutants into secondary pollutants that can be even more toxic (ozone). The fine particles of ozone or PM2.5 enter deep into the lungs and into the bloodstream.
- Heatwaves often come with high atmospheric pressure, that creates a stagnant layer of air above ground level. When this happens over cities, air pollutants remain captured, and pollutant density increases. This effect can last a day up to several weeks. The frequency and intensity of extreme heatwaves is increasing nationwide.
The American Lung Association ranked Phoenix and Tucson among the worst cities for air pollution in the US for several years. The results are evident in the nearly 9% of children in Arizona living with asthma, a leading cause of hospitalizations for children. Heat related injuries in combination with cardio-pulmonary impacts are a dangerous mix that combine into major health concerns for young and old.
What We Are Reading & Listening to Now
The White House Took Down the Nation’s Top Climate Report. You can still FIND IT HERE NPR July 1, 2025.
An Introduction to Environmental Racism for Nurses A FREE 5-10 hour course provided by the Association of Canadian Nurses for the Environment
From Columbia University: Nursing on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis: Education for Action CEUs available
The Emotional Toll of Climate Change is Broad-ranging, Especially for Young People 6/25/25
Frostbite How Refrigeration Changed our Food, our Planet, and, Ourselves by Nicola Twilley
Join Us: Webinars & Events
- July 15th: 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm (PST): Extreme Heat Adaptation in Indigenous Communities: Regional-level Solutions Register
- July 22nd: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (AZ): Harnessing the Power of Social Media: Using Different Platforms Strategically Register
- July 24th: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm (ET): Extreme Heat & Health: Clinical and Public Health Strategies for Prevention and Action Webinar with free CEUs Register
- July 30th: 10:00 am – 11:00 am (AZ): Extreme Heat & Workforce Health: Navigating Policy and Preparedness. Register
- August 5th: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (AZ): 3.0 Weighing in on Public Discourse: Working with Local and State Papers Register
- August 19th: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (AZ): Fighting Misinformation: Discussing the Realities of Fossil Fuels, Climate Change and Health Register
- September 2nd: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (AZ): Making Your Voice Heard: Influencing Decision-Making in Likely and Unlikely Places Register
- September 21st: all day/all over the country. Sun Day is a day of action celebrating solar and wind power and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind. REGISTER
Join the ANHE West Regional Forum Today!
Don’t forget to join the ANHE Regional Forums! Over 700 ANHE members in Arizona, California, and Nevada are committed to ensuring access to healthy food, water, air, and soil for all communities. The Regional Forums will host events, share information about current developments, and create opportunities for nurses to communicate with their legislators and with one another regarding issues in environmental health. Join Today
Take Action
Now is not the time to agonize, it’s time to ORGANIZE!
Nonpartisan protests against policies that hurt our public health occurring on July 17, 2025 nationwide. Sign up here
Oppose EPA Rule-changes Destructive to Climate and to Health
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to add your comments to these two current EPA rule-change proposals. These amount to the rollback of critical standards in place since 2011 or earlier, and updated in 2024.
1. To submit your comment to the Federal Register for the repeal of the Carbon Pollution from Power Plants Rule CLICK HERE. Or submit a comment on your own here. Deadline for comments is August 7th.
Repeal of this rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions is in direct contradiction to the scientific evidence; repeal will speed climate change and harm human health for decades to come.
2. To submit your comment to the Federal Register for proposed repeal of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, CLICK HERE.
Or submit a comment on your own here. Deadline for comments is August 10th.
Methylmercury pollution falls to the earth and migrates into groundwater, rivers and lakes, and into the fish we eat. It is a powerful neurotoxin which can affect our vision, speech, hearing, and immune and cardiovascular systems; further, it travels through the placenta and breast-feeding, when exposure can have significant impacts on the baby’s neurological development.
RECORDINGS
- July 9th Understanding the Connection of Climate in the Devastating Texas Floods by Climate Central RECORDING
- June 25, 2025 Southwest Learning Collaborative from the National Academies of Medicine webinar on extreme heat
- June 2nd: Global Heat Action Day: Local Solutions to Protect Communities Recording
- The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health: 2024 Communication Training Sessions Recordings
- May 14th: Mitigating Heat-Related Health Risks in Arizona Recording
- March 6th: Tap Water Affordability in Arizona Recording
- February 5th: Region 9 Pacific Southwest Center for Emergency Public Health: Heat Surveillance, Preparedness Strategies and Community Response Webinar featuring LA County and Maricopa County Recording
- Recording: Webinar with author and Pediatrician Debra Hendrickson on her new book The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Front Lines of Climate Change. Recording.
- Recording from December 10th’s webinar: Perspectives on Plastic Lifecycle Series: Plastics Use and Demand Recording.
- Recording from December 11th’s webinar:A panel discussion on Extreme Weather in Arizona Recording.
- Recording from 3rd Annual National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) National Meeting 2024 Here
Thank you for joining us in making a healthier planet today!