heat

15-year-old Ovet Gomez Regalado was a sophomore at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. His death is similar to two other football deaths in Kansas — both also involving teenage linemen.

Kansas City has committed to planting 10,000 trees in three years. But the city's existing tree canopy is relatively old and under stress by climate change and other factors.

Corn sweat is a summertime phenomenon that happens when the crop releases water into the air. It can add to humidity, but local scientists say it likely wasn’t the main force behind the late August heat wave.

A 15-year-old sophomore at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School collapsed and died during football practice this month. Similar tragedies have occurred repeatedly in several states.

Thirty-four Missouri residents — aged 11 months to 96 years — died last year due to heat-related illness, according to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services.

Heat kills more people every year than any other climate-driven disaster. But experts say hot temperatures are likely causing even more deaths than official numbers show.

More than 300,000 people are expected to head to Sedalia for the Missouri State Fair. Keeping that many people safe is a responsibility that’s actually too big for the town of about 22,000 people — but each year they get plenty of help.

Kansas City Public Schools have invested millions in keeping students cool this year after districts grappled with record-high temperatures last fall — forcing them to send kids home early.

The Biden Administration is proposing a new rule that aims to help protect about 36 million employees, including agriculture workers, from extreme heat. Advocates say the rule is long overdue.

More than 10,000 households around Kansas City lack access to any kind of air conditioning — and during the summer, many more struggle to afford their electric utility bills. Some programs around Kansas City are trying to help.

Unhoused residents in Kansas City are at risk due to the extreme heat sweeping across the region. Street outreach teams from local nonprofit reStart are working to provide emergency supplies and shelter from the heat.

The CDC says about 1,220 people in the United States are killed by extreme heat every year. Thousands more suffer from heat-related illnesses that cause muscle cramps, dizziness, headache, nausea and vomiting.