Our planet has a problem, and it's killing us seemingly more than ever before. Deaths from extreme heat have doubled in the past generation — and that stunning finding is still likely an undercount of the true toll.

On this episode of Scripps News Reports, we hear from medical professionals who are retraining to address the life-threatening effects of extreme heat. We speak with climate experts about what these trends mean for the future.

How is climate change affecting policy, whether on Capitol Hill or in the sweltering downtown core? What's behind the more frequent heat waves and extreme storms? And what steps should we take to keep ourselves safe as temperatures climb?

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