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Higher Temperatures in Socially Vulnerable US Communities Increasingly Limit Safe Use of Electric Fans for Cooling

Published Article

United States

Publication date: August 10, 2023

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As U.S. temperatures rise, socially vulnerable communities face rapidly shrinking windows for safe electric‑fan use. This study shows how warming disproportionately increases heat‑risk exposure in high‑SVI regions, where residents already have fewer resources for cooling and adaptation. Results highlight urgent needs for equitable heat‑resilience strategies.

Subject Tags

  • Climate adaptation
  • Climate impacts

Abstract

As the globe warms, people will increasingly need affordable, safe methods to stay cool and minimize the worst health impacts of heat exposure. One of the cheapest cooling methods is electric fans. Recent research has recommended ambient air temperature thresholds for safe fan use in adults. Here we use hourly weather reanalysis data (1950–2021) to examine the temporal and spatial evolution of ambient climate conditions in the continental United States (CONUS) considered safe for fan use, focusing on high social vulnerability index (SVI) regions. We find that although most hours in the day are safe for fan use, there are regions that experience hundreds to thousands of hours per year that are too hot for safe fan use. Over the last several decades, the number of hours considered unsafe for fan use has increased across most of the CONUS (on average by ∼70%), with hotspots across the US West and South, suggesting that many individuals will increasingly need alternative cooling strategies. People living in high-SVI locations are 1.5–2 times more likely to experience hotter climate conditions than the overall US population. High-SVI locations also experience higher rates of warming that are approaching and exceeding important safety thresholds that relate to climate adaptation. These results highlight the need to direct additional resources to these communities for heat adaptive strategies.

Citations

Parsons, L. A., Lo, F., Ward, A., Shindell, D., & Raman, S. R. (2023). Higher temperatures in socially vulnerable US communities increasingly limit safe use of electric fans for cooling. GeoHealth, 7(8), e2023GH000809.

https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GH000809

TNC Authors