Abstract
Heat waves are the deadliest type of natural hazard among all weather extremes in the United States. Given the observed and anticipated increase in heat risks associated with ongoing climate change, this study examines community vulnerability to extreme heat and the degree to which heat island mitigation (HIM) actions by state/local governments reduce heat-induced fatalities. The analysis uses all heat events that occurred over the 1996–2011 period for all United States counties to model heat vulnerability. Results show that: (1) Higher income reduces extreme heat vulnerability, while poverty intensifies it; (2) living in mobile homes or rental homes heightens susceptibility to extreme heat; (3) increased heat vulnerability due to the growth of the elderly population is predicted to result in a two-fold increase in heat-related fatalities by 2030; and (4) community heat island mitigation measures reduce heat intensities and thus heat-related fatalities. Findings also show that an additional locally implemented measure reduces the annual death rate by 15%. A falsification test rules out the possibility of spurious inference on the life-saving role of heat island mitigation measures. Overall, these findings inform efforts to protect the most vulnerable population subgroups and guide future policies to counteract the growing risk of deadly heat waves.
Highlights
Heat waves are the deadliest type of natural hazard among all weather extremes in the UnitedStates (USA)
To understand how heat island mitigation (HIM) Actions adoption depends on prior extreme heat events, we present in Table 3 the average heat fatalities by heat island mitigation actions adoption status and by county metropolitan categories
Given the devastating consequences of heat events and the growing risk of extreme heat, it is critical to identify the major determinants of heat vulnerability to minimize potential human losses
Summary
Heat waves are the deadliest type of natural hazard among all weather extremes in the United. None of the previous studies empirically address political and institutional aspects, whereas we seek to identify the role of community-based heat island mitigation actions initiated by state/local governments in reducing heat intensities and resulting fatalities. In both strands of the heat study literature, the importance of social vulnerability components in defining overall place vulnerability to heat are emphasized. A fundamental notion of this integrative framework is that heat vulnerability is defined and shaped by physical and meteorological characteristics of the hazard itself, and the various human components such as built-environmental conditions, population characteristics, and socio-economic factors.
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