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(This paragraph will go below the first two paragraphs under Health Effects of the Urban Heat Islands article)

Increased temperatures have been reported to cause heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and heat cramps. Some studies have also looked at how severe heat stroke can lead to permanent damage to organ systems. This damage can increase the risk of early mortality because the damage can cause severe impairment in organ function. Other complications of heat stroke include respiratory distress syndrome in adults and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Some researchers have noted that any compromise to the human body’s ability to thermoregulate would in theory increase risk of mortality. This includes illnesses that may affect a person’s mobility, awareness, or behavior. Researchers have noted that individuals with cognitive health issues (e.g. depression, dementia, Parkinson’s disease) are more at risk when faced with high temperatures and “need to take extra care” as cognitive performance has been shown to be differentially affected by heat. People with diabetes, are overweight , have sleep deprivation , or have cardiovascular/cerebrovascular conditions should avoid too much heat exposure. Some common medications that have an effect on thermoregulation can also increase the risk of mortality. Specific examples include anticholinergics, diuretics , phenotiazines and barbiturates. Not only health, but heat can also affect behavior. A U.S. study suggests that heat can make people more irritable and aggressive, noting that violent crimes increased by 4.58 out of 100,000 for every one degree increase in temperature.

(This paragraph is intended to replace the current 2 sentence thingy that talks about air quality under the Health Effects section)

A researcher found that high UHI intensity correlates with increased concentrations of air pollutants that gathered at night, which can affect the next day’s air quality. These pollutants include volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. The production of these pollutants combined with the higher temperatures in UHIs can quicken the production of ozone. Ozone at surface level is considered to be a harmful pollutant. Studies suggest that increased temperatures in UHIs can increase polluted days but also note that other factors (e.g. air pressure, cloud cover, wind speed) can also have an effect on pollution.

(This paragraph will be at the end as serve as a wrap-up type thing)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that it “is difficult to make valid projections of heat-related illness and death under varying climate change scenarios” and that “heat–related deaths are preventable, as evidenced by the decline of all-cause mortality during heat events over the past 35 years" . However, some studies suggest the possibility that health impacts from UHIs are disproportionate because the impacts can be unevenly distributed based on a variety of factors (e.g. age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status ). This raises the possibility of health impacts from UHIs being an environmental justice issue.