A new study by the Boston University School of Public Health has revealed a startling discovery: people experiencing homelessness (PEH) face a substantially higher risk of mortality due to extreme heat compared to the general population. The research, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, examines the impact of heat on mortality rates in two hot-climate US counties, Clark County in Nevada and Los Angeles County in California. The findings emphasize the urgent need for targeted interventions and policies to protect this vulnerable population from the devastating effects of climate change.
Unhoused and Unprotected: The Disproportionate Threat of Extreme Heat
By nature of their living situation, people experiencing homelessness (PEH) are considered one of the most vulnerable populations to the health impacts of extreme weather. Without access to reliable shelter, PEH are particularly susceptible to the dangers of extreme heat, and the study’s findings demonstrate that the impact of heat on mortality in this group is substantially greater than for the general population.
The researchers found that in Clark County, Nevada, which includes the city of Las Vegas, nearly 50% of deaths during the study period were attributable to higher daily temperatures. While the impact was less pronounced in Los Angeles County, with 5.2% of deaths linked to daily heat, the findings still indicate that heat is a significant contributor to mortality in this population, even surpassing the impact of daily cold temperatures.
Quantifying the Crisis: Alarming Insights from the Research
The study, which examined mortality data from January 2015 to August 2022 (for Clark County) and November 2022 (for LA County), highlights the magnitude of the problem. The researchers found that mortality risk among PEH increased in both hotter and colder temperatures, but the heat was especially harmful in Clark County, where 15% of deaths were due to acutely heat-related causes, compared to just 0.2% in LA County.
Extremely hot days accounted for nearly 25% of all deaths in Clark County and 2.2% of all deaths in LA County. As study senior author Dr. Jonathan Jay explains, “It wasn’t a surprise that our team found an association between heat and mortality for unhoused people, but the magnitude was staggering. Our estimates are 10 to 100 times greater than the known associations between daily heat and mortality for the general population in LA and Las Vegas, and this finding highlights the moral imperative for our systems to do more.”
Addressing the Crisis: Strategies and Policies to Protect the Unhoused
The researchers suggest that public health strategies such as cooling centers, water stations, greening, and reflective painting could help mitigate the impact of heat on PEH. However, they emphasize that a more comprehensive approach is needed, one that embraces a “housing first” philosophy.
“Too much of our policy is driven by the impulse to hide homelessness from view, rather than to recognize people’s dignity, protect their health, and improve our systems,” says Dr. Jay. “The idea that policing is key to solving this problem is false, and it’s a miscalculation we make over and over again as a society.” Policies that promote stable housing and other financial support for PEH are crucial, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling that permits cities to ban people from sleeping and camping in public places.
As the effects of climate change continue to intensify, the need for effective, compassionate, and comprehensive solutions to address the plight of the homeless becomes increasingly urgent. By prioritizing the health and wellbeing of this vulnerable population, we can take an important step towards creating a more just and equitable society.
