A “dangerous” winter season with prolonged drops in temperatures led to record-breaking number of both cold-related fatalities and emergency room visits this year, according to reports from the Maryland Department of Health.
The numbers serve as a grim reminder to Marylanders to take cold weather seriously and look out for neighbors who may be more vulnerable, state health officials said.
“We saw temperatures that we don’t usually see. That kind of cold can be very, very dangerous,” said Clifford S. Mitchell, director of the Maryland Health Department’s Environmental Health Bureau. “It doesn’t have to be that cold for it to be dangerous, but when it does get that cold, we want to emphasize those preventive measures.”
According to a recent report from the Maryland Department of Health, the 77 Marylanders who died from cold-related illnesses this year is two more than the previous record of 75, set just last year.
Those low temperatures also led to almost 3,000 people landing in the emergency room – most for cold-related reasons, but some due to carbon monoxide exposure, which tends to increase in the cold months.
The data comes from weekly updates to the “Maryland Cold-Related Illness Surveillance Report” which issued its last update for the year on April 8.
The annual cold season typically runs from November through March, with some years spilling into the first week of April. The cold season surveillance period ended on April 4 this year.
“We’re looking very closely at the data and thinking about how we better identify, in greater detail, those people who are at increased risks,” Mitchell said. “We’re trying to understand those increased risks where we can do a better job with our local health department colleagues and emergency services.”
The most recent data shows that of the 77 people who died, 46 were 65 or older, a vulnerable group if exposed to extreme temperatures. Almost 70% of the fatalities were men. About 16% of the total deaths were of people who are presumed homeless, while 69% had an address associated with them. The remaining 15% could not be confirmed to have an address or not.
The number of emergency room visits for cold-related reasons has been growing over the last four years. (Chart courtesy the Maryland Department of Health)
“We really want to try to reach people who are at risk however and wherever we can – that I think is the continuing lesson of this,” Mitchell said.
Meanwhile, there were 2,665 people who went to the emergency department or urgent care for cold-related illnesses, well over last year’s record of 2,130 visits.
A total of 326 people went to the emergency room for carbon monoxide exposure, beating the previous record of 205 visits from the 2023-2024 cold season.
There were also 907 calls for emergency medical services, up from last year’s record of 572.
The record-breaking winter comes on the heels of a deadly 2025 heat season that saw the highest number of deaths in over a decade.
Mitchell says that some of these extreme temperatures are to be expected due to climate change. He said state officials like the health department and emergency services need to be prepared to help people in times of crisis and more quickly identify vulnerable populations.
“Even as we talk about a warming planet, we’re also seeing changes in temperatures that are not only extremely high, but also lower lows and longer lows,” Mitchell said. “We have to be prepared for, and are trying to be prepared for, weather events that are both from extreme heat and related to cold.”
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