While it does not affect as many people as its opposite, extreme heat does, extreme cold can be just as deadly, especially in areas that are not accustomed to cold weather.
As with extreme heat, extreme cold has a variable definition depending on the location and how accustomed the population is to those temperatures. For example, people who live in a temperate state such as Florida may find 50 degrees chilly or cold, while those who live in colder states such as Minnesota may find 50 degrees to be comfortable or even warm.
Many people would associate hypothermia as the threat associated with extreme cold. However, freezing temperatures can also pose challenges for infrastructure, including roads, electrical systems and water systems. It can cause infrastructure failures and hazardous traveling conditions.
Both unseasonable and extreme cold spells are caused when a Polar Vortex moves out of its usual path as a result of climate change. The wind can make cold temperatures feel even colder. The wind chill index measures what the temperature feels like on exposed skin based on the speed of the wind. A wind chill can cause your body to lose heat faster and your skin to freeze very quickly
Health risks of extreme cold = include windburn, frostbite & hypothermia among many others. A normal body temperature is approximately 99º. When your core body temperature drops by 1 or 2ºC (1.8 or 3.6ºF), or your body is exposed to severe cold it increases your risk of harmful effects.
Judah Cohen with MIT Parsons Lab and Verisk and John Walsh with the International Research Center at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks help Host Bernice Butler to explore and unpack these issues.
