Extreme Heat is Particularly Deadly for Older People

Health and climate change researchers explain the risks and why older adults, even those in northern states, need to pay attention.

By Deborah Carr, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Innovation in Social Science, Boston University; Giacomo Falchetta, Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Energy, Climate and Environment, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA); and Ian Sue Wing, Professor of Earth and Environment, Boston University.

Without home cooling, Phoenix’s weeks with temperatures over 110 F in July 2023 became dangerous. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

This article is part of a Wise & Well Special Report: Extreme Heat and Human Health.

Scorching temperatures have put millions of Americans in danger this summer, with heat extremes stretching from coast to coast in the Southern U.S.

Phoenix hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) or higher every day for over three weeks in July. Other major cities, from Las Vegas to Miami, experienced relentless high temperatures, which residents described as “ hell on earth.”

While the evening news runs footage of miserable sunbathers on Miami Beach and joggers in Austin, Texas, dousing themselves with water, these images conceal a growing hidden crisis: the millions of older adults who are suffering behind closed…