It’s going to be hot this week.
Louisvillians can expect highs in the 90s to 100s, according to the National Weather Service.
The high temperatures are enough to cause heat exhaustion, said Evan Kuhl, the medical director of the UofL Health - Jewish Hospital emergency department
Kuhl said everyone is at risk.
“We are definitely seeing a lot of people who are suffering from heat stroke or heat exhaustion,” he said. “The big thing that I always see, that I worry about, is people who are passing out or losing consciousness, because obviously that's a very severe form of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.”
Kuhl talked with reporters Monday morning under the shade outside the downtown hospital.
Extreme heat is a constant during the Louisville summer. After 2,300 people died across the nation due to extreme heat in 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a tool to help people assess personal risk during heat waves.
Despite the deadly risk that comes with extreme heat, it is not considered a disaster in the U.S.
A heat stroke occurs when the body’s cooling systems fail and internal temperatures rise rapidly, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Heat exhaustion, by contrast, is a milder form of illness caused by prolonged exposure to moderate heat.
The risk is particularly high for the elderly, people who can’t get to an air conditioner, and babies because they have a higher skin percentage in comparison to their bodies, Kuhl said.
“If you are having to be outside, limit your sun exposure, try to stay in the shade, try to get some breeze on you to move that heat,” he said.
The most important thing, he said, is to drink lots of water and avoid alcohol.
