Should heat waves be named?

As I've discussed all summer long on this blog, it has been hot here in New England. In Connecticut, where I'm based for the summer, there have been 5 heat waves, with the most recent one ending on Wednesday this week. In addition to the temperatures associated with these heat waves being unbearable at times, they can also be life-threatening. In fact, over the past 30 years, heat causes on average 93 more deaths per year than hurricanes do.

Weather related fatalities (NWS)

Out of all of the hazards in the above graphic, however, hurricanes are the only ones that are officially named by the National Weather Service. (The Weather Channel names winter storms, but that is a completely different story.) If heat causes the most weather-related fatalities, and significantly more than hurricanes, one may wonder why hurricanes are the only weather factor that gets named.

The point of naming a storm is to give a concrete way to communicate it to the public. The names Isaias or Sandy or Irene or Katrina all conjure specific images, and they provide a concrete way to discuss the storm. I totally support the idea of the NWS naming hurricanes.

This past week, a new a new group was formed called the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance. This group consists of cities, emergency response organizations, and research labs, and it proposes that heat waves should be named, like hurricanes are. The main reason for naming heat waves would be to heighten the severity of the heat and to warn people about its dangers. While the movement to name heat waves is in its very initial stages, it is interesting to note that it is in the works.

Here's my take on naming heat waves. I'm definitely not a social scientist, so this is all speculative. People do die from the heat each year - perhaps naming heat waves could portray an image of heightened severity and cause people to take more prudent precautions when it comes to the heat, thus preventing deaths. Possibly, naming heat waves will make people more aware of the climate crisis and compel them to want to take action. Earth is warming at an alarming rate, and we humans are responsible. Naming heat waves could cause people to understand what we are doing to our planet. While I see the potential benefits of naming heat waves, I don't support the idea. I am against the idea of over-hyping the weather, and I believe that the more that we name things, the more the weather could get over-hyped. Also, I worry that if we begin naming something like heat waves, we could get on the track towards naming almost everything (like a simple rainstorm or a dense fog event). While naming heat waves is a long way out, it'll be interesting to see if it comes to fruition.