Via The Guardian: 'A summer unlike any other': heatwaves and Covid-19 are a deadly combination. Excerpt:
Temperatures in some California cities this week broke decades-old records. The heatwave that cooked Las Vegas over the past few days brought temperatures over 100F. And in Phoenix, highs this weekend are expected to approach or exceed 110F.
This year is on track to be one of the hottest on record, and public health officials worry that in cities across the US, summer heatwaves will collide with the coronavirus pandemic, with deadly consequences for poor, minority and older populations.
Even before the pandemic hit, heat was killing more Americans than all other natural disasters combined. People who live in cities are especially vulnerable to heatwaves because of a phenomenon called the “urban heat island effect” – cities with populations of 1 million or more can be up to 5F hotter than surrounding areas due to high population density, a lack of greenery and shade, and because materials like steel, concrete and asphalt tend to absorb more heat.
Analyses have also found that cities’ poorest neighborhoods tend to be hotter, and that many low-income families have been struggling to cope for years. In some neighborhoods of Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, up to a third or more of households lack air conditioning. Due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, many more are unable to pay to run their ACs. And even as cities begin reopening after lockdown, many of the malls, public libraries and recreation centers where overheated Americans traditionally went to cool down remain risky, especially for older people and others with a heightened risk of dying from Covid-19.
Throughout the country, public health officials told the Guardian they were scrambling to find ways to protect the most vulnerable from the dual threats of heat and coronavirus.
“This summer is definitely not going to be like any other summer,” said Deanne Criswell, the commissioner of New York City Emergency Management. “We’re not going to have the same level of facilities open that New Yorkers typically go to all the time to stay cool. It’s a big concern.”
New York is in the process of installing 74,000 air conditioners in the homes of low-income seniors, according to Criswell. The city is also seeking to help more people pay for electricity this summer, as the unemployment crisis leaves thousands of New Yorkers without the means to make rent and utilities.
Other cities across the US have asked utility companies not to shut off service this summer, even if customers can’t pay bills, so that they have access to water, cooling and refrigeration through the hottest days.
