Heat waves: How to cope with new extremes
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Luke Cregan Staff writer
It鈥檚 hot out there, and it鈥檚 getting hotter.
Temperatures broke June records around the globe, from the leafy streets of the American South to the domes of the . recently had its first-ever 104-degree June day. Cities across Iran for days under 122-degree heat. It was even hot above the Arctic Circle, where thermometers in the Russian city of Norilsk pushed to record highs grazing .听
In the U.S., states across New England and the Mountain West are in for unusually high heat through the end of the summer, according to an by the National Weather Service鈥檚 Climate Prediction Center.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onHeat waves are getting hotter, longer, and more frequent around the world. Here鈥檚 what communities are doing to beat back the heat and protect public health 鈥� including for the most vulnerable populations.
These waves of extreme heat pose serious public health challenges. A heat wave that began a year ago this week in the Pacific Northwest contributed to hundreds of deaths. And the World Health Organization attributes 166,000 deaths globally to heat waves over a period stretching from 1998 to 2017.
Modern comforts like air conditioning have mitigated heat鈥檚 direst effects. For the last 50 years, for example, heat-related deaths in the United States have generally been declining, according to a . But the same study cautions that, in the last decade or so, the decline has slowed, and possibly even started to reverse.
With聽heat waves growing ,聽scientists and officials are exploring ways to keep people safe.
International Research Institute for Climate and Society
What counts as a heat wave?聽
There鈥檚 no single definition, but generally a heat wave is when abnormally high heat lingers for two or more days. It鈥檚 not just a matter of how hot it is, but also of how unusual that temperature is. Even in a state like Nevada that鈥檚 used to triple-digit summers, stretches when it鈥檚 115 degrees can cause distress.
Consecutive days of extreme heat, when overnight temperatures stay high, exacerbate vulnerabilities. 鈥淭he most dangerous part,鈥� says P. Grady Dixon, a professor at Fort Hays State University and author of that 2021 study, 鈥渋s the lack of cooling off.鈥澛�
Who鈥檚 most vulnerable to extreme heat?
Historically, older adults have been most at risk. However, over the past few decades, they鈥檝e benefited greatly from the spread of air conditioning and more effective messaging to deliver heat warnings. According to Dr. Dixon, their safety has helped improve U.S. health statistics related to heat鈥檚 dangers.
But not everyone can take advantage of AC.听For instance, homeless people or day laborers who spend their days outdoors are increasingly vulnerable to extreme heat.
Urban landscapes can also worsen heat. Asphalt streets, tightly packed buildings, lack of green space, and gas-powered engines create so-called . This is evident in Boston, where a 2019 found the Chinatown neighborhood, which is downtown, was up to 12 degrees hotter than leafier suburbs.
How do we keep people safe?聽
The simplest and most important step toward safety is knowing when there鈥檚 a risk.
鈥淲hen the weather forecast [on your phone] is a smiley face or a rain cloud, that鈥檚 not good enough,鈥� Dr. Dixon urges. 鈥淪eek out the National Weather Service and heed their heat warnings.鈥�
Kimberly McMahon, a program manager at the National Weather Service, says the agency is working to develop even better warning tools that can single out what is dangerous for specific areas or populations.
Another priority is making sure those messages reach everyone who needs them 鈥� including non-English speakers and people who spend their days working outdoors.
鈥淲e鈥檝e done video PSAs in English and Spanish. Radio in English, Spanish, and Creole. Billboards at bus stops, particularly targeting the ZIP codes with the highest severe heat,鈥� says Jane Gilbert, a Miami official.
Ms. Gilbert is herself an example of how cities are pushing to mitigate heat. She鈥檚 Miami-Dade County鈥檚 chief heat officer, a position created to coordinate efforts to cool cities. Ms. Gilbert was the first, appointed in June 2021, and Phoenix and Los Angeles have each appointed ones since.听
Another step toward safety is to keep vulnerable people out of harm鈥檚 way.
Erick Bandala of Nevada鈥檚 Desert Research Institute says places 鈥渘eed stricter regulations [to protect] workers who have no choice but to go out there and work even on a 110, 115 [degree day].鈥�
Communities across the country have opened聽: libraries, , senior centers, and 聽open to anyone who needs shelter from the dangerously hot outdoors.
Cities are making more permanent transformations as well. Since 2009, has repainted tens of thousands of dark rooftops white to stop them from absorbing so much heat. And has begun covering its endless asphalt streets with a reflective coating.
Meanwhile, nearly every city is striving to plant more trees, which offer much-needed shade. 鈥淲e鈥檙e giving away over 10,000 trees this summer,鈥� says Ms. Gilbert, continuing local initiatives that have planted more than 218,000 trees since 2001.
In some ways, the U.S. is playing catch-up with places like Singapore that have long committed to tackling heat. The equatorial country has central cooling systems, rooftop gardens, and greenery that scales the sides of tall buildings.
Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, sees hope in her work promoting heat mitigation efforts around the world.
鈥淭here are a lot of aspects of climate change that feel intractable,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut this is not one of them.鈥�
