Please Stay Alert: Your 5 Biggest Summer Dangers Around New England

Summer is the easiest season of the year to just let loose and hit up the New Hampshire Seacoast or Lakes Region, trail hike, or hit the beaches around Maine, or enjoy a backyard BBQ at your friend's place in the Berkshires or suburban Boston.

There's zero shock that it's the most popular and favorite season of the year for the majority of New Englanders.

Swimming, BBQs, loads of outdoor events like music festivals, concerts, farmers' markets, and block parties, to name a few, encompass New England summers.

This is why those summer dangers are often overlooked or rationalized away, too. So, please take note and stay vigilant.

TOP 5 SUMMER NEW ENGLAND DANGERS

Heat - Kills More Than Natural Disasters Combined

This is nuts, but yes, heat kills more people each year than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and cold weather.

According to CBS News, the highest number of people in 45 years died in 2023  from excessive heat. Now that 2,300 people may not sound like a lot, however, just having a heat stroke or dehydration at any level is frightening.

Thousands of people of all ages are affected each year, according to the Cleveland Clinic, with heat cramps, a heat rash, and heat exhaustion.

Sunburn Can Become Skin Cancer

You've had one. I've had one. Who hasn't had a sunburn?

While they will ruin your summer for a few days each and every time, according to the Cleveland Clinic, it's skin cancer that makes them dangerous and possibly deadly in the years to come.

Food Poisoning - Is the Grill Master Washing His Hands?

It's at an all-time high every summer, according to the CDC.

Loving a good outdoor party is natural, but because grilling is at its height in the warm months, the handling of raw meat and fish is also at its height.

While you may wash your hands, others may not, and that includes not wiping down the cooking area and utensils.  This could easily pass bacteria like Salmonella on to you.

Drowning - 4,000+ Each Summer

Drowning takes more than 4,000 lives annually, with 20% of those deaths in children 14 and younger.

Whether it's riptides, big waves, muscle cramps, alcohol, or lack of swimming skills, this is the time of year we're all in the water the most.

Ticks and Mosquitoes - They Carry Diseases

'Tis the season for these dangerous insects.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, both carry diseases that love humans.

West Nile Virus is the most common disease carried by mosquitoes in the United States, and ticks carry Lyme disease. Mosquitoes outpace every other organism as the deadliest in the world.

Please, stay safe and vigilant.