How extreme heat in Miami can affect your health

These articles focus on the health impacts of extreme heat and mosquito-borne diseases in Miami. The reports highlight efforts in providing water to the homeless during extreme heat, understanding the impacts of lizard-mosquito interactions on disease transmission, and tackling the rising cases of dengue fever amid climate change.

Read the stories below for details.

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Beachgoer Sergei lazovskiy cools off under the shower after enjoying the sunny and hot day at the Haulover Park Beach at on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Miami Beach, Florida. By David Santiago

NO. 1: WHAT DOES A HEAT ADVISORY MEAN IN MIAMI? HOW THE EXTREME WEATHER ALERT CAN AFFECT YOU

What you should know about the warnings. | Published July 10, 2024 | Read Full Story by Miami Herald Archives

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Jean Wilfred, 70, enjoys a bottle of water as the outreach team from the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust handed out bottles of water to individuals living on the street on Aug. 1, 2024, in Miami, Florida, during a period of sweltering heat. By Carl Juste

NO. 2: ‘WE NEED WATER.’ HOW SOUTH FLORIDA GROUPS ARE HELPING THOSE HARDEST HIT BY EXTREME HEAT

Miami-area nonprofits are helping those most vulnerable to the extreme heat South Florida is facing. | Published October 30, 2024 | Read Full Story by Mimi Whitefield

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Peter’s rock agamas have spread across Florida, in some places pushing aside native species like the brown anole. That shift in the reptile population could potentially have ripple effects on mosquitoes and the spread of diseases . By Alex Grimsley

NO. 3: HOW A TURF WAR BETWEEN LIZARDS IN FLORIDA IMPACTS MOSQUITOES AND MAYBE YOUR HEALTH

Researchers are looking at the role a tiny lizard plays in protecting us from mosquito-borne diseases | Published March 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Denise Hruby

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread dengue to people through bites.

NO. 4: DENGUE FEVER ON THE RISE. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOSQUITO-BORNE ILLNESS IN FLORIDA

Puerto Rico has recorded at least 1,012 cases of dengue so far in 2025, followed by Florida, 50, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has 40 recorded cases. | Published March 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante

The Florida Department of Health issued a state-wide mosquito-borne illness alert after six people contracted malaria in Sarasota. By James Gathany

NO. 5: MOSQUITO SEASON BEGINS IN SOUTH FLORIDA. IS CLIMATE CHANGE MAKING IT WORSE?

As Miami-Dade marks the unofficial beginning of mosquito season with a Wednesday event to help residents “Fight the Bite”, the Herald spoke to the head of the Mosquito Control Division, Dr. | Published May 7, 2025 | Read Full Story by Denise Hruby

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.