As this summer has already made clear, extreme heat is here and it’s only going to get worse in the coming years
Due to rising temperatures, more and more people are at risk of serious health concerns that come with them, including heat stroke, cardiovascular problems and respiratory problems. This is especially true for older people, those who are pregnant and already vulnerable groups with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.
In Texas — a state that often sees some of the hottest temperatures in the country — extreme heat kills More than 330 people in 2023, setting a new record. Recently loved by millions of people in the city Houston has had to deal with a massive heat wave Causes power outages while navigating By Hurricane Beryl.
Despite the increasing toll, there are surprisingly few controls in place to protect people from the effects of heat. The principles are completely opposite to how extreme cold is treated. And with that the severe winter continues Worse than extreme heatAs heat waves become more dangerous, the gap between the two is likely to shrink.
For example, very few states have laws that require landlords to provide air conditioning for their tenants. on the contrary, Most states There are policies that mandate the provision of heat in winter. But even around extreme heat it’s difficult to navigate what’s needed and what’s needed. A comprehensive state-by-state cooling policy resource does not yet exist, which speaks to the scattered landscape of regulations considering heat exposure.
This is largely due to the opposition of policy makers who are lagging behind climate change Zamindar Group For such requirements, and the huge cost of both energy bills and equipment that will actually solve the problem. There are also questions about who will bear these costs, including concerns that air conditioning obligations will simply fall on tenants in the form of higher rents.
The need for adequate cooling will only become more pressing, however. And the increasing prevalence of heat waves – which are becoming stronger, longer and more frequent – underscores the fact that air conditioning is no longer a luxury but a necessity and the lack of it in people’s homes can prove fatal.
There are major gaps in the cooling policy
Cooling policies for rental properties vary by state, often by city. There are no federal laws or regulations governing them, and many states don’t have them either. Although some cities prefer Dallas Texas, for example, has passed ordinances mandating that landlords provide air conditioning. Provides the same protection State wide
“At the federal level there is no baseline right to air conditioners or anything like that,” David Konisky, co-director of Indiana University’s Energy Justice Lab, told Vox.
As a result, such measures – known as habitability laws – are highly dependent on where people live These laws, which determine what requirements landlords must meet in order to provide them with accommodation, Rarely includes cooling. For heat, meanwhile, these policies state that rental properties need to include a heating unit that keeps them above a certain temperature.
“Unlike heat, cooling is not really included in livability criteria or applied to increasingly hot summers,” said Ruthie Gourevitch, housing policy manager at the Climate and Community Project.
Some state policies, viz California And New York, landlords are required to maintain air conditioners that are already in a unit, but they do not mandate that they provide AC first. Most states have experienced scorching heat waves in recent years, but many still have no state laws on the books to require cooling systems.
A similar dynamic is seen when it comes to federal energy assistance programs, which often devote most of their funding to helping renters cover heating costs in the winter. About 80 percent of funds allocated to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are spent in the winter, while much less is distributed in the summer, said Mark Wolf, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. It’s largely a byproduct of the program’s grants, with most of the money running out after it’s used over the winter, Wolf said.
Because of this breakdown, tenants may need such assistance to cover costs in the summer even if they have access to air conditioning.
As Rebecca Leber previously reported for Vox, this same trend holds true when utility companies cut off power, something they do when a customer misses their payment. Many states will offer consumer protection in these situations during the cold winter months. Not so with the increasingly fierce, hot months of summer. According to a previous report by Vox, 41 states offer customers protection from utility shutoffs during extreme cold if they fail to pay a bill, while only 18 states offer the same for extreme heat.
Preventing such shut-offs is a key way to ensure people have access to air conditioning during extreme temperature spikes, Leber wrote.
“There are many areas of policy where we’ve historically had this distinction, between cold and heat,” Konisky said. “[We’ve thought that] Trying to protect people from extreme cold temperatures has become even more important.” But, now, “the heat is just as deadly as it is a concern.”
Omitting this can have serious consequences
As extreme heat becomes more common and more dangerous to human health, the impact of these gaps will become increasingly apparent.
Low-income renters, in particular, are disproportionately affected by such exclusions, experts say, because they are less likely to be able to afford their own cooling systems. Black Americans are also more likely to live in places where they are exposed to extreme heat, A 2020 study found. According to research by climate and health scientists Adrienne Hollis and Christy Dahl, “Counties with large African American populations are exposed to two to three days of higher temperatures per year than counties with smaller African American populations.”
The risk of staying indoors without air conditioning or other cooling options during these heat waves is especially high for the elderly, children, pregnant people and those with serious health conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure. Serious complications can include blood clots, kidney failure and asthma.
“Unfortunately, with access to cooling, it’s going to be another one that shows the economic divide of the country and the world,” Wolff said. About 13 percent US households lack air conditioning, with renters more likely to go without than homeowners
The consequences of that lack have been increasingly evident in recent years with several cities like Phoenix Record high deaths from heat. In 2023, Phoenix experienced 30 consecutive days of heat above 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and 645 people died, nearly double the previous year. A large proportion of these deaths include low-income or homeless people. According to Phoenix officials.
During such heat waves, staying inside without air conditioning is especially dangerous.
“It can actually be hotter indoors than outside, and that’s a really important environmental justice issue,” said Leah Shinasi, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health at Drexel University. Expires in 2024 Hellion Study.
Policies that are subject to change
In addition to regulations that treat cooling systems as necessities, experts say there needs to be more funding to cover the costs associated with them.
Some cities, where temperatures have been consistently high and climbing, like Dallas, have approved ordinances in recent years to mandate that landlords provide air conditioners that keep units at a certain temperature. Other cities, such as Los AngelesSimilar proposals are being considered.
Such policies incorporate a handful of laws at the state level.
Seth Gertz-Billingsley, a Harvard law student who has studied heat protection policy across states, Note that Oregon law One of the most extensive. that law- which passed in 2022 — Allows tenants to install air conditioning, and also establishes an emergency fund to help low-income tenants afford AC. However, it is not mandatory that all landlords offer air conditioning.
In addition to strengthening requirements for air conditioners and other cooling systems, advocates say it’s important that such policies account for the costs that accompany these changes, so they aren’t simply passed on to tenants.
Federal and state governments can provide subsidies to landlords, for example, Wolf said. And more funding is needed for energy assistance programs focused directly on tenants. Wolf estimated that LIHEAP could use an additional $3 billion annually to cover the costs people face during the summer. Gourevitch said tenant protections from rent increases and potential evictions also need to be baked into such proposals.
Another key consideration is the need to install cooling alternatives such as heat pumps, which will not contribute to the climate crisis. The paradox of air conditioning has long been that it is important to help protect human health during heat waves but that it simultaneously releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Devices like heat pumps, which move air from indoors to outdoors and vice versa, are a more efficient option because they “Transfer heat instead of using energy to generate heat.”
However, to change such policies, lawmakers need to catch up with how fast climate change is happening and affecting people’s lives. Forecast for this summer And beyond that it shows that the world is going to get hotter.
“Many of our livability laws and enforcement policies are decades old, and need to be updated to deal with the new reality we live in,” said Gourevitch.
