Climate and Health

Climate change refers to long-term changes in the average weather patterns in an area. This can include changes in average temperatures, rainfall patterns, and more. Some of these changes, such as higher summer temperatures and more extreme storms, can put people's health at risk. Visit DNREC's Climate Change Basics page to learn more about climate change and its causes.

The effects of climate change are already notable in Delaware, and more impacts are expected in the future. In this dashboard, we highlight different risk factors that can make areas more vulnerable to climate change and its effects.

Climate change impacts human health by putting people at risk of injury, disease, and death from exposure to intense heat waves or extreme heat events and other extreme weather. Extreme weather puts stress on the body, especially among older adults and individuals with pre-existing conditions and chronic illnesses. Extreme heat can affect people directly in the form of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, but it can also worsen heart and lung conditions, which can lead to hospitalizations associated with myocardial infarction and asthma exacerbation. Dehydration associated with extreme heat can also worsen kidney conditions.

When fossil fuels are burned, in addition to greenhouse gases, air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and more are released into the air. These are often called co-pollutants, because they are released at the same time as carbon dioxide. Co-pollutants can also affect human health. Exhaust from car traffic, for instance, can trigger asthma attacks. Below are a sample of health metrics related to extreme weather and co-pollutants.

Changes in the environment can impact the vectors (e.g, ticks) that spread tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease. According to the CDC, the reproduction and survival of ticks, their animal hosts (e.g., deer), and the bacterium that causes Lyme disease are influenced by climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, and humidity. Mild winters, early springs, warmer summers, and fewer days of frost allow ticks more time to reproduce, spread disease, and expand their habitats. Increases in the tick population may increase the risk of Lyme disease in areas where Lyme disease already exists. For more information on Lyme disease and the impacts of a changing climate, visit CDC: Climate Change and Infectious Disease.

2023

The Lyme Disease Incidence in Delaware is 42.8 per 100,000 (adjusted for age).

With increased concern regarding climate change and its effects on local environments, the State of Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) conducted a climate projections study for Delaware. The DNREC study provides predictions of changes in Delaware climate throughout the 21st century. This page shows some of the climate projections from the DNREC study, including the number of nights annually with a temperature above 80º F; the number of days annually with temperature above 90º F, 95º F, and 100º F; and the average daily high temperature projections.

The State of Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) worked with leading climate scientists to create climate projections for Delaware. To create the climate projections, researchers coupled over 100 years of Delaware weather station observations with climate model simulations of projected future climate conditions through the end of the 21st century.

Not all communities feel the impacts of climate change equally. Low-income communities, for instance, may struggle with high energy bills during the hottest parts of the summer, while elderly and disabled individuals are more vulnerable to the health effects of extreme heat waves. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is a resource created by the CDC to identify communities that may need greater support.

More information about the data presented in this section can be found at the Climate Projections Portal.

The average annual number of days with temperatures above 90º F, 95º F, and 100º F and average daily high temperature are both expected to increase in Delaware. Hot temperatures can also contribute to deaths from heart attacks, strokes, and other forms of cardiovascular disease. Heat is the leading weather-related contributor to deaths in the United States, even though most heat-related deaths are preventable through outreach and intervention

According to the CDC, elevated temperatures increase the risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths, particularly among vulnerable populations, such as children, older adults, economically disadvantaged groups, and those with chronic health conditions made worse by heat exposure.

In the future, average temperature and temperature-related indicators are expected to increase across Delaware.

The average annual number of nights with a temperature about 80° F is expected to increase annually in Delaware.According to the CDC, people can face serious health risks if they cannot recover from exposure to daytime heat. The average annual number of nights with a temperature above 80° F is expected to increase annually in Delaware. While daytime high temperatures are typically hotter, many environmental health scientists are increasingly concerned about high nighttime temperatures. When the body can't cool down at night and recover from exposure to daytime heat, the risk of heat-related illness increases.