Parkland Hospital in Dallas said it is seeing more patients this summer for heat-related issues than last year.
Hospital officials told The Dallas Morning News that more than 200 patients had checked into the emergency room for heat illnesses between June 2 and August 22, compared to only 36 in 2022.
Dr. Jeffrey Metzger said patients have been suffering from heat stroke, heat illness, and overexposure to heat, the DMN reported.
“I think people are sometimes able to avoid [the heat] a little bit more. They’re able to stay in and put things off for a little bit,” Metzger told the paper. “But when it’s like this for just week, after week, after week, people eventually have to get out in it and do stuff.”
So far this summer, DFW has recorded at least 47 days of triple-digit temperatures.
The heat impacts the elderly and diabetic patients particularly hard, the doctor explained to the DMN.
“We also see it sometimes in diabetics who get an altered mental status from their diabetes sometimes, and then they may get confused and end up in a place that’s hot and not be able to get out of it,” the paper quoted him as saying.
The doctor said some patients ignored early warning signs.
“I think some of the people that we see tend to think that they’re invincible and that it’s not going to bother them,” he said.
A tropical storm that hit South Texas did not bring any rain or cooler temperatures to North Texas, the National Weather Service said. Tropical Storm Harold came ashore on Tuesday morning near Corpus Christi and headed west toward northern Mexico, as The Dallas Express reported.
Nearly all of Texas was either abnormally dry or under drought as of Monday.
Dallas-Fort Worth recorded only 1.25 inches of rain in June and July, according to NWS statistics.
“In Denton and Collin counties, year-to-date totals are well below normal, and drought conditions are beginning to re-emerge,” the weather service said, per Axios.
