By Sean Jones
Richmond Times-Dispatch
RICHMOND, Va. 鈥� State health officials said last week鈥檚 heat, humidity and sun exposure led to record numbers of emergency room visits for conditions like heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, emergency rooms and urgent care centers across central Virginia saw 146 visits for heat-related illnesses between Monday and Wednesday. That鈥檚 more than double the average from 2024.
| Watch for more: On-demand webinar: EMS in a changing climate: Understanding the impact of extreme weather
These numbers are for VDH鈥檚 Central Region, which includes 27 localities in the Richmond area, Tri-Cities, Southside and the Piedmont. The highest number of cases were reported in Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and the Tri-Cities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a fair statement that the recent days are the highest levels of (heat-related illness) visits ever reported to VDH,鈥� said Arden Norfleet, an epidemiologist with VDH.
Low-income Richmond residents suffer more heat-related emergencies
A study from local researchers shows that heat-related illnesses disproportionately impact low-income and Black residents. It also found cooling shelters are placed too far apart.
Weather experts last week forecast an unusually strong June heat wave for Virginia. Much of the state saw high temperatures in the upper 90s with heat index readings above 100 degrees for several days. A dome effect in the atmosphere pushed away most clouds and moisture resulting in nearly constant sunlight for days.
These conditions led to the spike in heat-related illnesses. State health data shows that these illnesses skewed toward younger age groups.
Health officials typically send warnings about the dangers of heat exposure for children and the elderly, who have a harder time regulating their body temperatures. But 52% of the recent cases involved people between the ages of 20 and 49 years old.
A spokesperson for the Richmond Ambulance Authority said they responded to an increased number of calls, all across the city, for things like heatstroke.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had calls that were certainly serious, and had we not had early caller intervention, could have very well been life-threatening,鈥� said Mark Tenia, public relations and media manager for the Richmond Ambulance Authority.
Those calls came in for people who are homeless, children, seniors, people working jobs outside such as construction, and people simply having fun outside on a summer day.
鈥淥utdoor activities can also include large outdoor events where participants are not properly hydrating or taking breaks in the shade, which can lead to more heat-related emergencies,鈥� Tenia said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e run a variety of each of these types of calls this week.鈥�
Chesterfield reported that only about 6% of their total EMS calls were heat-related. In total, they responded to 39 calls for heat sicknesses between Sunday and Thursday.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e noticed as far as trends is that those most impacted are the elderly as well as people whose jobs required them to work out in the heat,鈥� said Lauren Russell, a Fire & EMS spokesperson. Chesterfield responded to eight calls for residents ages 70-79.
How climate change impacts Virginia
Warmer winters may seem nice, but they also could mean higher risks for flash flooding, longer allergy seasons and more mosquitoes and ticks.
What are the signs of heatstroke or exhaustion?
Heat-related illnesses can be life-threatening if EMS is not called to respond as soon as serious symptoms are presented.
Officials say that the first signs of heat exhaustion include sweating, exhaustion, muscle cramps, nausea or dizziness.
If those symptoms get worse, they can lead to heatstroke.
Should you stop sweating entirely while in a hot environment, that鈥檚 often an alarming sign that you鈥檙e experiencing a dangerous level of heat exposure. That can mean that your body has lost the ability to cool itself. Medical assistance should be called immediately.
If possible, people should move into an air-conditioned area, or into shade. Wet cloths or ice packs should be placed on the skin, especially the head, neck, armpits or groin. Sips of water or a sports drink are also encouraged.
Other symptoms of heatstroke can include altered levels of consciousness, confusion, hallucination, loss of consciousness and seizures.
鈥淚f heatstroke isn鈥檛 treated quickly, it can be deadly,鈥� said Tenia with Richmond鈥檚 ambulance authority.
Common medications such as SSRIs, often used to treat mental health conditions, can also hinder your body鈥檚 ability to regulate heat. It鈥檚 important to research your daily medications to understand their impacts.
Minorities and low-income communities impacted the most
While heatstroke and exhaustion can happen to anyone spending too much time in the heat, the areas most at-risk are typically low-income and minority communities.
According to the VDH data for the central region in 2025, 49% of cases involved white patients. About 39% of cases involve Black patients. However, the region鈥檚 number of white residents is nearly double the number of Black residents 鈥� 836,000 compared to 451,900.
A June 2024 study, lead authored by Peter Braun of the Richmond City Health Department, showed that Black residents made up 62% of heat-related calls in the city, despite making up only about 40% of the population.
Further studies in the region have outlined that low-income areas are far more likely to be hotter in the summer, lacking tall trees, shade or cool buildings that can reduce surface temperatures by up to 15 degrees.
Jeremy Hoffman, director of climate justice and impact at Groundwork USA 鈥� one of the study鈥檚 coauthors 鈥� has been tracking urban heat temperatures since 2017.
Climate change has exacerbated summer temperatures and will only continue to get worse, Hoffman said.
鈥淭here has been an increase in extreme heat events over time and the best climate science we have suggest this will only intensify,鈥� Hoffman said.
Locally, there has been a hard push over the past few years to focus on communities of color and formerly redlined neighborhoods that don鈥檛 have infrastructure including trees, cooler bus stops and better overall resources.
Hoffman says they鈥檙e also trying to get better about identifying why people are outside in the sun for extended periods of time.
鈥淲e can still do a lot to understand the precursors for heat illness in Virginia. What we don鈥檛 have right now is a good understanding of exactly who is, and what they were doing in advance of these heat illnesses,鈥� Hoffman said. 鈥淭hat would really help us manage our preparation for these types of things in advance.鈥�
He added that this week was a perfect example, given that meteorologists raised warnings about the incoming heat.
鈥淲hat do we do in advance? Do we prepare transit with stops that have cool water, or misting stations?鈥�
There could be other solutions such as temporary shade structures that can be put up quickly and easily. Mobile cooling centers can target some of these urban heat islands that don鈥檛 have a public building with AC like a library.
Although much of the focus has been on low-income communities, other more affluent areas of Richmond can also pose significant heat risks.
Scott鈥檚 Addition and Carytown are also considered urban heat islands with elevated summer temperatures. Both places also lack shade and cooling structures. Heat-related illnesses can be a danger in any such area of the city.
Several groups, like RVA Rapid Transit and Richmond鈥檚 Office of Sustainability, are pushing an array of solutions to fix these problems. Hoffman also says the city鈥檚 ongoing refresh of building codes is another place to plan for things like taller buildings to create shade, and more urban forestry.
In the short term, it鈥檚 good to stay aware.
鈥淭he best thing to do is to cool them down as quickly as possible 鈥� having cold water around so that people can submerge their arms or places where there鈥檚 a lot of blood circulation to cool down that core temperature really rapidly.鈥�
Heat safety a priority for high school student-athletes practicing in summer months
As high school student-athletes competing in fall sports take the practice field during increasingly hotter and longer summer months, heat awareness and safety is always of paramount importance.
The week ahead
The National Weather Service office in Wakefield expects heat indices to remain high at the start of this week.
Sunday has a forecasted maximum heat index of 105 degrees. Monday and Tuesday are slightly lower at 101 degrees. Those forecasted heat indices drop to the low 90s from Wednesday through the Fourth of July .
The sun could be broken up across the week with cloudy days and chances for storms early in the week.
漏 2025 Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va..
Visit .
Distributed by