HealthSaturday, November 7
Oregon's extreme heat and smoke days have climbed since 2006, a state report finds
The Daily Corvallis team
A new Oregon Health Authority report puts numbers on hotter, smokier years. Oregon averaged 22 extreme heat days a year from 2021 through 2025, up from 12 in 2006 through 2010. Smoke days tripled, and days with both quadrupled.
Heat and smoke days per year have climbed
| 2006–2010 | Measure | 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Extreme heat days | 22 |
| 11 | Wildfire smoke days | 33 |
| 2 | Heat and smoke together | 9 |
Source: KLCC
Rural counties in eastern, central and Southern Oregon saw the most extreme heat days. Smoke days rose fastest in the state's biggest population centers.
“Our big hope is that these numbers validate the need to take action.”
- Marion County: home energy assessments and heat pump installs for older adults
- Jackson and Josephine counties: 2025 health fair so more than 800 residents could learn about smoke risks
The report's numbers on heat and climate stress
- 9
- heat-related deaths recorded in Oregon in 2025
- 3rd
- warmest year in Oregon since records began in 1895
- 71%
- of 11th-graders reported climate stress about the future
Sources: KLCC, KEZI 9 News
Sources: KLCC, KEZI 9 News