The Maryland Department of Health has launched a new Weather-Related Illness Data Dashboard to give public health officials and residents a weekly snapshot of illnesses linked to extreme heat and cold.
The dashboard replaces previous document-formatted reports and is updated every Wednesday. It tracks emergency department visits for hypothermia and hyperthermia, emergency medical services calls for weather-related illness, unintentional carbon monoxide exposures during the cold season, and weather-related deaths reported by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The tool covers Maryland’s heat season (May through September) and cold season (November through March). It includes graphs showing trends by week or season, breakdowns by age, sex, race/ethnicity and jurisdiction, and analysis of co-occurring conditions and housing status among decedents.
Southern Maryland’s location along the Chesapeake Bay makes the dashboard particularly useful for local health departments in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties. The region’s large senior population, outdoor recreational activities, farming operations and boating industry increase vulnerability to heat-related illness and cold-weather hazards such as carbon monoxide poisoning from heating systems.
“We are seeing more extremes in weather in our state,” said Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Meena Seshamani. “The Weather-Related Illness Data Dashboard will help the Department and partner agencies support at-risk communities faster, allocate resources better, and monitor local needs during extreme heat and cold.”
The dashboard is part of the Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Preparedness and Response efforts to improve public health surveillance and response. Local health departments can use the data to target outreach, such as cooling center openings or cold-weather shelter alerts, and to coordinate with emergency responders during heat waves or winter storms.
For more information on the Weather-Related Illness Data Dashboard, visit the Office of Preparedness and Response webpage. Additional resources on heat and cold safety are available on the department’s weather preparedness pages.
