For people living in cold areas, renting a home without heating seems ridiculous. But for those in areas prone to extreme heat, a lack of necessary climate control is a reality they may face — and it's only getting worse.
What's the situation?
It is bad enough that the planet is getting hotter, as the Natural Resources Defense Council details, but Grist reports that one key problem is housing regulations have yet to account for those changes.
While most states have policies that mandate the provision of heating in winter, few have implemented the equivalent for cooling. It's the same at the federal level: "There's no baseline right to air conditioning or anything like that," said David Konisky of Indiana University, per Grist.
Consequently, the thoroughness of these measures — known as habitability laws — is highly dependent on where people are living. For example, in New York and California, landlords must maintain existing air conditioning, but they are not required to install it in the first place, Grist reported.
"Unlike heat, cooling is really not incorporated into habitability standards or enforced in increasingly hot summers," said Ruthy Gourevitch, a housing policy manager at the Climate and Community Project, according to Grist.
"Many of our habitability laws and enforcement policies are many decades old and need to be updated to confront the new reality that we live in," she added.
Why is cooling so important?
In extreme circumstances, high temperatures can cause death. From Oregon to California to Utah, people have already died this summer from overheating — with dozens counted overall and expected to rise in mid-July, per NBC News. The Texas Tribune reported that a staggering 334 Texans died of heat-related causes in 2023.
But even before temperatures become fatal, heat wreaks havoc on the body. Grist reported that the risk of heat stroke, cardiovascular issues, blood clotting, kidney impairment, and respiratory issues skyrocket with soaring temperatures. These risks are higher for vulnerable groups, including the elderly, pregnant women, infants, and people with preexisting conditions.
The other concerning factor is that temperatures are only continuing to trend upward. Per the Environmental Protection Agency, the planet has been steadily warming up over the last hundred years, with a particular spike in the last several decades. Worldwide, 2023 was the hottest year on record.
With these patterns, cooling won't just be a luxury — it will be necessary.
What's being done to improve cooling?
Aside from creating thorough habitability laws, Grist suggested that regulators should look into transitioning to more effective means of cooling.
Switching to a heat pump, for example, moves heat outdoors without producing the same amount of pollution as traditional HVAC systems. (A heat pump can also save you thousands of dollars on bills over time.)
If you are facing a heat emergency, you can follow these tips from the Red Cross to protect yourself.
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