Heat Vulnerability
1 in 4 people in the South are vulnerable to extreme heat, which inhibits community resilience. In many counties, it is 1 in 3.
Social vulnerability to extreme heat by county, 2019
Share of population with 3+ heat exposure risk factors
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Notes: Socially vulnerable to extreme heat is defined as having 3 or more risk factors among 10 specific risk factors identified in the 2019 Community Resilience Estimates for Heat.
The Census Bureau’s Community Resilience Estimates for Heat (CRE for Heat) is an index designed to determine a community’s vulnerability to extreme heat exposure based on social characteristics and risk factors, including the share of households with older adults, lower incomes, or limited access to healthcare. Almost a quarter of the nation has three or more such risk factors, making them socially vulnerable to extreme heat. In many Southern counties, it’s one-third of the population.
Recent data shows that 92% of Southerners were exposed to 5+ days of extreme heat over a 5-month period in 2021, while 64% were exposed to 15+ days (Extreme Heat Days). Between 2016 and 2020, heat-related weather events caused an estimated 290,000 excess hospital visits per summer, costing roughly $1 billion annually.1 A study by the U.S. Treasury Department finds that many Southern counties with high heat exposure are also socially vulnerable — particularly in the Mississippi Delta region.[2] Communities across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas tend to score higher in social vulnerability as they are likely to have lower incomes, limited access to healthcare, and many households with older adults. Additional factors can exacerbate heat exposure such as fewer trees and more pavement which can cause “heat islands”. Planting trees and providing shade at bus stops can help mitigate the impacts of heat in vulnerable communities.[3],[4]
Woolf, S., Morina, J., French, E., Funk, A., Sabo, R., Fong, S., Hoffman, J., Chapman, D., & Krist, A. (2023, June 27). The Health Care Costs of Extreme Heat. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-health-care-costs-of-extreme-heat/
THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AMERICAN HOUSEHOLD FINANCES. (n.d.). U.S. Department of the Treasury. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Climate_Change_Household_Finances.pdf
NOAA, communities to map heat inequities in 14 states, 1 international city. (2023, April 4). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-communities-to-map-heat-inequities-in-14-states-1-international-city.
Heat.Gov National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS). (n.d.). Www.heat.gov. https://www.heat.gov/
