heat wave

Kansas City Public Schools invested millions in keeping students cool this year after districts grappled with record-high temperatures last fall.

En los próximos días, la zona metropolitana de Kansas City experimentará las temperaturas más altas en lo que va del año, con índices de calor por arriba de 100. Encuentre una guía de lugares donde escapar del clima veraniego, incluidos centros para refrescarse y piscinas públicas.

The Kansas City metro will experience the hottest temperatures so far this year in the coming days, with heat indexes in the triple digits. Find a guide to where you escape the summer weather, including cooling centers and public pools.

Worldwide, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last week that 2023 has a greater than 99% chance of being the hottest on record. During the August heat wave in Missouri, the state saw more than 260 temperature records tied or broken.

Una quinta parte de las muertes de trabajadores relacionadas con el calor registradas entre 2017 y 2022 fueron trabajadores agrícolas, según datos de la OSHA. Académicos, especialistas en salud ocupacional y grupos de defensa están llamando la atención sobre el impacto poco reportado del cambio climático en este grupo por las olas de calor.

A fifth of reported heat-related deaths between 2017 and 2022 were agricultural workers, according to OSHA data. Academics, occupational health specialists and advocacy groups are calling attention to the under-reported impact of climate change on this group from heatwaves.

Heat index values have tied decades-old records in parts of the Midwest this week, subjecting many of Missouri’s outdoor workers — landscapers, Streetcar construction crews and more — to potentially dangerous conditions.

As temperatures reach the triple digits across Kansas City, more people are going to hospital emergency rooms than in previous years. Doctors share the common symptoms people report and what can be done to avoid a similar outcome.

Kansas City Public Schools, which does not have central air conditioning in many of its secondary schools, will release all students early for the rest of the week because of safety concerns. Other districts in the area are canceling outdoor sports, moving recess indoors or encouraging staff to wear shorts.

Staff at the Marion County Record rushed to complete the latest edition of the paper after police confiscated much of their equipment last week. We'll have the latest on the raid and the fight it's sparked over free speech protections. Plus: Hundreds attended a memorial service for another Kansas football player who died after practicing in the summer heat.

Climate change will continue to raise temperatures in urban areas like Kansas City. But planting more vegetation and using more reflective building materials can help cool things down.

This summer, communities across the U.S. are suffering from extreme heat waves, and Kansas City is no exception. We’ll hear why cities are often hotter than other places — and ideas for cooling them down.