As temperatures rise to new heights this summer, communities across the nation are struggling to adapt to the “new normal” of extreme heat.
Defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a two-to-three-day period of high heat and humidity with temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, instances of extreme heat are becoming increasingly frequent and intense as climate change raises global temperatures.
The effects of extreme heat on human health can be devastating. The Washington Post reported at least 28 heat-related deaths in the first week of July as regions across the country were put under heat alerts. The development in recent weeks of “heat domes” covering vast swaths of the country has contributed to the crisis by subjecting millions to dangerous health conditions.
North Carolina has experienced multiple heat waves this summer, with July 5 marking the hottest day in Raleigh’s history at a record-breaking 106 degrees Fahrenheit. In response to this threat, Gov. Roy Cooper declared May 26 through June 1 of this year “North Carolina Heat Awareness Week.”
“As our summers continue to get hotter, today’s proclamation raises awareness of the many tools and resources available to keep our communities safe from extreme heat,” he said.
With steamy summer days projected to continue, some government officials and Duke researchers are taking steps to help North Carolinians beat the heat.
A growing trend
According to Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub in the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, heat seasons are lasting longer each year as temperatures intensify due to climate change.
“The heat season typically is May to September, but we’re seeing … 12 consecutive months here [that have been] the hottest months on record,” she said. “Temperatures [are] getting unseasonably warm in April and then also into October, so we have [the] heat season expanding.”
Ward explained that North Carolina’s high humidity brings unique challenges during extreme heat events. Higher humidity adds additional stress to the body by driving up the heat index — “feels like” temperatures — and sustaining these “staggeringly high” temperatures overnight.
Without that critical nighttime period of cooler temperatures, Ward noted that living organisms are unable to regulate their internal systems and “recover from daytime exposure.”
Overheating can cause a number of physical harms, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Experiencing difficulty thermoregulating can also exacerbate existing health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes.
These adverse health effects are not felt equally by North Carolina residents.
“Manufacturing workers are very susceptible, food service workers are very susceptible — anybody who works in an environment where it’s very warm during the day,” Ward said. “If you can’t afford your air conditioner, if you can’t afford to run it enough to adequately cool your home … you don’t have any reprieve.”
Ward stated that men ages 18 to 45 are the most likely to be seen in North Carolina emergency rooms for heat-related illnesses. Other groups at risk include pregnant women, children, people with underlying health conditions, people who take certain medications that can disrupt the body’s ability to thermoregulate and older adults.
However, Ward maintained that “everyone is vulnerable to extreme heat.”
“You may not identify yourself as a ‘vulnerable group,’ but you likely are more vulnerable than you suspect,” she said.
Finding local solutions
In light of the growing threat extreme heat poses for North Carolinians, Duke researchers at the Heat Policy Innovation Hub are working to identify solutions.
“One of the challenges with the heat problem is that nobody owns it,” Ward said. “It’s not something that any one sector can solve by themselves.”
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She explained that the “Heat Hub’s” primary goal is to foster “cross-sector collaboration” between key stakeholders — “industry, finance, insurance, public agencies, civil society … scientists and communities” — to effectively combat the multifaceted challenge of extreme heat.
One prong of the Heat Hub’s work is research. The organization partners with medical researchers to help inform the connection between heat and adverse health outcomes.
Another focus area is solution-oriented community partnerships. Experts at the Heat Hub recently collaborated with a number of state agencies and county officials to produce the Heat Action Plan Toolkit, which was released on Earth Day this past April.
The online resource provides information on the health concerns associated with heat exposure, as well as strategies for best managing the problem of extreme heat in various communities across the state. It was produced by the Heat Hub in partnership with the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the North Carolina State Climate Office, the North Carolina Division of Public Health and 10 county governments.
“The beauty of heat action planning is giving the framework, the roadmap for local leaders to walk through that process to better understand initially the impact that heat has on our communities,” Ward said.
She explained that the needs of each community differs based on their local climate and population demographics, requiring interventions tailored to these particularities.
“If you’re in a community that has a large population of unhoused, you may need to invest resources in sheltering services during these periods of high heat,” Ward said. “If … you’re in a community with a large amount of occupational exposure from heat, maybe you need to think about a different kind of intervention.”
Ward added that the process of developing the toolkit was beneficial in and of itself, as it pushed local officials to think about the shortcomings in their existing heat management strategies and allowed them to better reallocate resources to serve their communities.
Looking forward
The Heat Hub engaged in cross-sector collaboration again in June at the inaugural HeatWise Policy Partnership Summit. Hosted on Duke’s campus by the Nicholas Institute, the event brought together over 100 leaders from various interest groups in industry, academia and policy.
The summit focused on three themes: rural heat vulnerability, data for risk exposure and impact, and the role of insurance and finance. Discussion centered on current challenges and successful strategies that could be applied in other contexts.
“One of the things that came out of that conversation is that there are multiple different structures currently in place that could potentially be used to address heat, but they aren’t currently being used to do so,” Ward said.
She highlighted grants from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as helpful resources but noted that there is room for improvement in ensuring that available funds effectively reach communities that need them to combat extreme heat.
“I was really surprised to see the genuine interest from the private sector in trying to figure out what their role is and how they can help communities be more resilient to heat,” Ward said.
Ward shared that the Heat Hub recently received a grant to partner with energy and insurance companies alongside North Carolina localities to test the feasibility of a new insurance program that would offset the burden of managing extreme heat for vulnerable residents.
Through the model, the energy company would subscribe to a new “parametric insurance product,” which would cover electricity costs for low-income ratepayers during periods of high heat. This system would ensure that people aren’t forced to avoid using their air conditioners when temperatures soar because of financial difficulties.
Ward restated the universality of heat vulnerability and encouraged North Carolinians to look out for one another amid the ongoing public health crisis.
“What we’re experiencing now isn’t exactly what it was like even 10, 20 years ago,” she said. “We need to really be thinking about our own behaviors and making sure that we’re taking as [many] precautions that we can and checking on our neighbors.”
Durham County Libraries are available as cooling centers during regular business hours. Visit Durham County’s interactive map resource to find the nearest cooling station.
Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.