DALLAS — As North Texas residents continue to deal with scorching hot temperatures, a local medical agency and state energy organization are also dealing with an increase in their respective workloads.
The administrative governmental organization MedStar Mobile Healthcare said the agency took 206 heat-related calls from May 1-July 8 of last year. During that same time frame this year, they've taken 406, a 97.1% increase.
Of the calls from 2022, 62% were male and 35% were female.
On Friday alone, MedStar took 13 heat-related calls, having to transport eight people to local hospitals with three people remaining in serious condition.
RELATED: MedStar heat-related calls and energy demand skyrocket, as temps hit above 100 across North Texas
This comes during a time that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is dealing with a high demand for energy from across the state. As of Saturday, the peak demand landed at about 77,532 megawatts. On Friday, which was the hottest day of the year so far, there was an all-time demand record of 78,418 megawatts.
While White Rock Lake Park didn't have as many visitors as it usually does during Saturday afternoons, there were people here and there brave enough to take on the heat.
Cyclist Jade Ortiz said she recently started riding her bike as consistently as she could, especially when she is off work. She took the biking lanes Saturday with plenty of water on hand.
"It helps with my mental health," Ortiz said. "This heat is kind of just how it is now, so I just bring a lot of water."
Jake Mu also decided to go on a walk through the Dallas park, saying he tries to simply be outside as much as possible.
"I think it's like 100 basically every day for the rest of the summer, so I don't want the heat to stop me from doing what I normally do," Mu said.
ERCOT allows you to monitor real-time grid conditions. To check that out, you can click here.