This summer was relentlessly hot. Moisture makes it worse.

Hot, sticky and relentless: That was the experience for a large part of the country this summer, including more than a dozen countries that had a high humidity in July.

Last month, the majority of the lower 48th parts of the Midwest, the east coast and the middle Atlantic, especially in July, were intensively moist, according to preliminary data, which was compiled by Oregon State University researchers.

Hot and moist conditions can be expected in summer, but the heat index values – how the conditions “feel”, when air humidity and air temperatures are combined – rose in places such as Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida last month.

Cities like Pittsburgh; Roanoke, Virginia; And Washington, DC, registered according to the illustrations, which were compiled by the Iowa Environmental Mesonet, and recorded data that collects and pursues the data on precipitation, soil temperature and other environmental conditions. New York City and Raleigh, North Carolina, had their second most July, while the humidity in Detroit and Cincinnati reached their third highest level last month.

In Paducah, Kentucky set a brutal route of high heat and moisture from July 16 to 30, a series of new records for the city.

“We have reached the end of the longest route of the continuously high humidity that Paducah has observed in the past 75 years,” said the local branch of the national weather service in one position to X and added that the number of hours in “oppressive levels” of humidity exceeded 300% of the normal amount of the city for the month of the month in July.

It is expected that moist days occur more often due to climate change, since a warmer atmosphere can absorb more moisture. But beyond the discomfort of a sticky summer, the increasing level of humidity are serious threats to health and public security.

High-heat index values increase the risk of heat-related illness and death, especially in children, older adults and people with existing health conditions. A 2022 study by the non -profit organization Climate Central showed that the combination of high heat and humidity can influence the body’s ability to cool off by sweating.

“In many parts of the country and the globe, dangerous heat often occurs together with high humidity – and the couple of diseases multiply the health risks,” the researchers wrote in their analysis.

A warmer atmosphere can also produce stronger storms that are able to throw large amounts of rain over land, which often causes dangerous floods.

So far, more than 3,000 fall flood warnings from the National Weather Service have been issued this year – the highest number that, according to the IOWA State University, corresponds to the highest number.

The catastrophic floods last month killed at least 120 people in the Hill Country region of Central Texas, while several strikers flooded parts of New Mexico several times in July. On Thursday, right at the end of the month, intensive storms played New York City and the surrounding Tristate area, which led choses during the commuting.

This article was originally published on nbcnews.com