When HEAT hits differently
Addressing heat disparities in communities.
Extreme heat is the most deadly weather in the United States. It impacts our physical and mental health, the activities we do, and our energy bills, not to mention our comfort. But extreme heat doesn’t impact everyone equally. Some people are much more exposed to heat than others, even in the same region. And this unequal exposure follows familiar patterns.
This article looks at some of the factors that create these differences, and who is most impacted.
Heat Disparities
Disparities are unfair differences. Two things that create disparities in heat exposure are “heat islands” and “shade deserts.” Heat islands are areas that experience higher heat than the surrounding areas. Shade deserts are areas where there are limited alternatives to being in direct sunlight. Areas covered in pavement can contribute to heat islands, since asphalt absorbs more heat and releases it more slowly than natural environments. Less tree cover can also add to the development of heat islands. Trees can provide shade, reduce heat absorption, and provide evaporative cooling. Heat islands and shade deserts can both cause neighborhoods to experience different temperatures in the same weather.
Michelle Fredrickson, one of the Department of Health’s (DOH) climate change epidemiologists, studies climate impacts and social factors. She says, “The worst heat is experienced in neighborhoods and communities that the government has historically not invested in, and as a result, they have fewer trees and more asphalt. These communities often have more people of color and people who primarily use languages other than English. On average, these neighborhoods are quite a bit hotter than other parts of even the same city. You can experience heat as much as 20 degrees hotter than any other place in the county.”
And living unhoused, no matter in which neighborhood, exposes you to the most to heat waves. (A full article on this topic in this blog series is coming soon.)
Cooling Disparities
Air conditioning isn’t a standard housing feature in Western Washington. And for those who do have air conditioning, running it can cost too much. One in three households struggles to pay their energy bills or chooses not to cool their home because of the energy cost. Households are considered “energy burdened” if more than 6% of their income goes toward energy. Black, Latino, and Native American households are disproportionately more likely to be energy burdened.
Cooling centers are a public option for people who do not have access to A/C in their homes. But there are many reasons why cooling centers aren’t an option for some people, including transportation challenges, not wanting to leave behind beloved pets, or being worried about getting an illness from gathering with other people. Ways that local governments can make cooling centers more accessible and appealing include locating cooling centers in neighborhoods with heat islands or in neighborhoods that have less access to A/C, locating them along transit lines, providing free transit to cooling centers, and making plans for pets, etc.
Nature-based solutions can provide opportunities to cool off, such as shady parks and forests. But this type of cooling is less available in neighborhoods without parks and trees. It is also harder to access for people with disabilities. Michelle says, “Neighborhoods that have seen less investment from the government are much less likely to have good sidewalks or good ways to travel. That’s problematic for everyone in the neighborhood, but especially for people who use wheelchairs, canes, or other mobility devices. These barriers can make it very hard to access green space.”
Ironically, planting trees or creating parks can cause new problems. Communities that have faced historic lack of investment can experience “climate gentrification.” Climate gentrification happens when something designed to help reduce heat and climate change increases property values and prices out the current residents.
“Research suggests that if you green up a part of the city, it’s going to gentrify,” says Rad Cunningham, manager of DOH’s Climate and Health team. “Some strategies, like white roofs, reduce the heat island effect and do not appear to contribute to gentrification. But they also do not bring all the other benefits of trees. So, what does that mean for that resilience strategy? It’s a hard problem, but we still need to invest in overburdened communities.”
So far, communities that are more likely to experience heat islands and the effects of climate change are less likely to receive investments to address these issues.
Work Exposure
People who work outside, especially those doing strenuous labor, face extra risk from the heat. “Outdoor workers, especially agriculture and construction workers, are some of the most at-risk people for heat-related illness and death in the United States,” says Claire Grant, a Resilience & Preparedness Strategist at DOH. Latinos are overrepresented in both of those industries.
“There are regulations in Washington about mandatory hydration breaks, and things like that. The Department of Labor and Industries has done a really good job of putting those in place. We understand in Washington how incredibly important our outdoor workers are for the health of our population and for our food systems, too,” says Claire.
Some people with indoor jobs, especially those who work with heat sources like ovens, also face increased risk when the weather heats up.
Addressing Heat Disparities
Washington is working to address climate change and unequal exposure to environmental health risks. DOH does this with extreme heat guidance, coordination with other partners on planning and policy efforts, and grant programs providing direct benefits to those most impacted. The Climate Commitment Act funding supports the Outdoor Worker Safety Grants that provide cooling supplies directly to climate-impacted workers and the Climate+ grants that invest in extreme heat and wildfire smoke resilience in rural schools. The Climate Commitment Act is also moving the state away from pollution-generating energy, which can improve air quality and help reduce disparities.
DOH created the Environmental Health Disparities (EHD) map to help show where things are unfair. It shows the combined effect of environmental risks and socioeconomic issues. Various state and local programs use the EHD map to help direct funding. These include air quality improvement grants, tree planting, and heat pump installation for low-income households, which can help address exposure to excess heat and the health problems it can cause.
There are many ways for you to get involved, too. You could learn more about programs on weatherization, green spaces, or reducing the impacts of climate change. You could plant trees, advocate to increase parks in affected neighborhoods, or volunteer to staff a cooling center. Because so many factors combine to create heat disparities, there are may ways to help!
