The graph shows heat-related illness as a more prominent cause of death in the summer months of May through September. Click for a larger view and additional information.
This figure shows the annual rates for deaths classified as “heat-related” by medical professionals in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The orange line shows deaths for which heat was listed as the main (underlying) cause.* The blue line shows deaths for which heat was listed as either the underlying or contributing cause of death during the months from May to September, based on a broader set of data that became available in 1999.
* Between 1998 and 1999, the World Health Organization revised the international codes used to classify causes of death. As a result, data from earlier than 1999 cannot easily be compared with data from 1999 and later.
Data source: CDC, 2016.