WASHINGTON – Whether you believe that climate change is real or not, the fact remains that the summers are getting hotter and the storms are more intense.

George Luber with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that hotter and more extreme weather isn’t going anywhere, NBC News reports.

Luber attributes a turn in weather patterns to climate change and says the magnitude of extreme weather events like hurricanes are a public health concern.

A prime example is last year’s derecho, which was a definite wake-up call for the D.C. area.

Still, the CDC’s Ethel Taylor says the number of heat-related deaths — 32 — connected to power outages from the derecho and a subsequent heat wave wasn’t as bad compared to similar, previous events, NBC News reports.

Taylor says the responses and plans in hard-hit states of Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia were key to keeping heat-related deaths down.

Meanwhile, CDC officials say heat was a factor in the deaths of more than 7,200 people from 1999 to 2009 — a total that for the first time includes non-residents like tourists and those in the country illegally.

WTOP’s David Burd contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.