There’s a “heat health emergency” blanketing nearly half the U.S. right now, bringing temperatures at and above 100 degrees to some 114 million people. It has prompted cities to open cooling centers and, in at least one extremely grim case, prompted a medical examiner’s office in Phoenix to bring in additional refrigerated containers, should heat deaths increase the number of bodies to such an extent that it overwhelms the facility’s capacity. (One hospital in Arizona is also using body bags filled with ice to treat heat stroke victims.)

The extreme heat has also pushed activists in Texas to demand federal heat protections for workers, just as the state experienced 13 heat-related deaths.

There are roughly 32 million Americans whose work requires them to be outside—construction workers, airport baggage handlers, letter carriers, etc.—but there are currently no federal requirements that mandate breaks for rest, shade, or water. States can establish their own rules, but in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott recently repealed local ordinances that required water breaks for construction workers. House Bill 2127 won’t go into effect until Sept. 1, but it has already been dubbed the “Death Star bill.”

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Texas activists took to D.C. this week to protest Abbott’s decision with an all-day vigil and thirst strike, just as the city hit 91 degrees. Over 100 lawmakers also sent a letter to Labor Secretary Julie Su to urge her to do something, like implement a national workplace heat standard. “If a strong federal heat standard that includes routine breaks for rest, shade and hydration is enacted this year, it would save lives across the country, while preventing any other statewide attempts to limit local heat protections,” the letter read.

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In the meantime, the heat wave in the U.S. is expected to continue. Scientists are predicting that 2023 could end up being the hottest year on record.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its August predictions and showed virtually no corner of the U.S. would be spared by hot temperatures, while just a few weeks ago the average global temperature was the hottest ever recorded.

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• Climate Change
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