Thirty-two people in Maryland have died because of extreme heat so far during 2011, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Health authorities reported the same number of confirmed heat-related deaths in 2010. There were six deaths in 2009; 17 in 2008 and 21 in 2007.
July was the hottest on record for Baltimore, with an average temperature of 81.7 degrees. Twenty-four days reached 90 degrees or more, a record for any July.
Six of the first 10 days of August topped 90 at BWI, but the next 21 days did not. It was the longest stretch of sub-90 summer weather since 2009.