What data about heat illness are available on the data portal?
- Homes with Air Conditioning
- Emergency Department Visits
- Hospitalizations
- Near Real-Time Data
Emergency department visit and hospitalization data are available for single and/or combined years from 2001 through 2019. Data about homes with air conditioning are available for 2011-2014. When possible data may be explored by sex and age group for the following geographic breakdowns:
- Public Health Districts
- State
The near real-time dashboard provides daily updates to the number of emergency department visits for heat illness at the state and county level so far in 2021. The dashboard also allows you to compare daily and weekly data going back to 2017.
Why track heat illness?
The Maine Tracking Network tracks emergency department visits and hospitalizations due to heat illness to understand how Mainers are affected by hot weather. Because spending time in air conditioning is often the best prevention against heat illness, Maine also uses survey data to track the number of homes that have air conditioning. Analysis of heat illness and air conditioning prevalence can provide a better picture of which groups of people may be more vulnerable to the effects of high heat.
This information will likely become increasingly important to public health and safety planning efforts as periods of extreme heat occur more frequently or for longer stretches of time due to climate change.
Where can I find more information about heat illness?
- Find data from other states about heat illness and other climate and health indicators on the National Tracking Network
- Learn more about preventing heat illness, at-risk groups, and what you can do to prepare for heat events from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information about extreme heat