summer heat

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.

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.

Increasing temperatures brings a heightened risk of heat stroke, fleas, ticks and other maladies. By being aware and taking some precautions, humans can protect their dogs and cats.

Kansas City and several other cities worked with NOAA to map neighborhoods to find out how heat impacts neighborhoods. The data can help cities prepare and adapt to a warmer world.

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.

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.

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.

The Prison Policy Initiative put Missouri and Kansas on a list of “famously hot states” that lack universal air conditioning in prisons. During excessively hot summer days, inmates say that it can feel like a "pizza oven" inside — and the state isn't doing enough to fix the issue.

Historic redlining and lack of green spaces in the Kansas City metro means that, even in the current heat wave, some people will experience temperatures at least 11 degrees warmer. These heat islands are driving up energy costs and causing public health concerns.

Lower income neighborhoods and people with health conditions are at a higher risk of adverse health impacts from an extreme heat wave sweeping across the Midwest.

In the days before air conditioning, electric fans were how Midwesterners beat the heat. One local collector is restoring a rare set of antique fans that once cooled travelers in Kansas City’s Union Station.