Like I said, those stats had been forgotten about between 2020-2022, when the discourse was about another type of “new normal”, but one related to public health. Yes, it’s the very definition of apocalyptic hysteria.
Presently in Nebraska we are bracing for a heat index of 117°F, a situation with no precedent here in 2020, '21, or '22. I contend that what you describe as "apocalyptic hysteria" is the only reasonable and appropriate response to such a morbidly inhospitable climactic state of affairs. It's no more "hysterical" than screaming and banging on the windows when trapped in a hot car with no way out.