Summer heat

Marginalized communities feel the high cost of surviving in dangerous heat

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

There is a segment of communities in Tallahassee and across the country that has been inadequately coping with the sweltering heat for months. 

People in marginalized neighborhoods are enduring because they lack the means to pay increased utility bills to keep their air conditions running. Some low-income families have to live with more exacerbated conditions because they don’t have adequate cooling.

That observation by Florida State University professor Chris Uejio is among a myriad reasons why the heat wave shouldn’t be brushed off as just a seasonal occurrence. Senior citizens and young children are also among the most vulnerable, said Uejio, an associate professor in FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

However, there should be a sense of urgency in sounding the alarm about the suffering of the have-nots, Uejio said.

“There is evidence showing that low-income households turn their air conditions on at higher indoor temperatures,” he said. “They are willing to tolerate higher indoor heat exposure just because they don’t have the financial means to keep themselves completely safe in these periods of time.”

Air quality, which is affected by improper indoor cooling, is part of climate change studies that Uejio has done. He is a member of NASA’s Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team, which rapidly responds to public health and air quality problems.

Most low-income individuals spend about 16 percent of their income on air conditioning. Many of those households might qualify for federal energy assistance, but many of them don’t apply, Uejio said.

Extreme heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the United States. Casualties of heat conditions are usually high because there is seldom any preparation before the heat strikes.

 “Heat poses a threat to everyone but some groups face higher threats that includes older adults and people with extreme health condition, outdoor workers, athletes and other people exercising outdoors, low income households, the unhoused, and young children,” said Uejio, adding that  “depending on the group, there are different challenges.”

Since late June, temperatures in Tallahassee have been in the high 90’s. The heat index on many of those days felt like in excess of 100 degrees. 

Actually 100-degree temperature has been recorded just once this summer at Tallahassee International Airport on July 21. Prior to that, 105 in 2011 was the highest temperature ever recorded in Tallahassee.

A cooling spell might be coming based on the forecast for the next week, which shows rain chances between 47 percent and 58 percent through Aug. 20. But the daytime highs will remain in the 90’s.

While that doesn’t mean that the city has seen the last of the scorching heat, Leon County government has announced the main library at 200 W. Park Avenue will have a cooling station during its hours of operation.

The designated area will offer air conditioning, comfortable seating, water access, restrooms, in addition to charging stations.

Statewide, emergency management officials have issued an appeal to people to consider their safety during the heat spell. 

“With the heat index value reaching an upwards of 110 degrees in some areas, it’s important to take breaks from the heat and drink plenty of water,” Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said in a prepared statement. “I urge all Floridians to practice heat safety and remember it is never safe to leave children or pets alone in a parked car.”

Leon County Emergency Medical Services has seen “a slight uptick” in the heat-related calls, said Darryl Hall, Leon County EMS Deputy Chief. Most calls are for heat exhaustions, he said.

Heat exhaustion could start with symptoms like dizziness, nausea and headache. Most dangerous of the calls is for an individual suffering with a heat stroke, Hall said.

“Someone dealing with the heat stroke is a true medical emergency,” Hall said.

A heatstroke occurs when the body loses its ability to cool down and control its temperature. That condition usually starts with regurgitation, headache, and light headedness. Hall suggested that anyone showing those symptoms be taken indoor or into a shaded area to cooled down as quickly as possible. 

A heat stroke victim could end up with a permanent disability or even death, he said.

Individuals who do outdoor projects around their homes should consider doing so early in the mornings or evenings, Hall said. He also noted that high humidity makes it hard for the body to cool down because the moisture in the air is the same as the moisture in the skin.

“You have to listen to your body,” Hall said. “Your body has a way of telling you something is off; listen to it. Don’t push pass that. If you’re feeling yourself getting a little weak or dizzy; sometimes when you work and bend down then stand up and you get a little woozy, that’s your body telling you I’m getting stressed. So you need to listen to your body, stay out of the heat source and stay hydrated.”

People who work outdoor are more structured and could find it hard to adapt because of their livelihoods, Uejio said.

But working outdoor is something that the county government gets ready for with it “heat prep,” which occurs around late spring. 

The initial heat preparation meeting is followed with weekly meetings when summertime rolls around, said Andrew Riley, Operations Director who oversees Public Works Operation crews.

Workers on Leon County Public Works Operation crews are required to have two kegs on each truck, one with water and the other with a sports drink to replace electrolyte, said Riley. He added that outside workers, whose work gear includes cotton shirts designed to allow air flow, are also required to take frequent 20-minute breaks.

“When the heat is 90 degree and up, it’s starting to really bake,” Riley said. “It’s just those guys (crew supervisors) responsibility to watch those guys. If they see heat strokes coming on it’s their jobs to stop them and get them to a cool area.

“The last thing you want to do is somebody call their wife because they’ve passed out. We provide anything they need here. Sometime some guys have to take more breaks that other guys and we allow that to happen. We’ve got a family thing here. We treat each other like family.”

Forecasters are calling for the summer to remain unusually hot. That, said Uejio, a researcher who co-authored the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects Framework that was part of former President Barak Obama’s Climate Action Plan, signals that it’s time for long-term strategies for dealing with the heat.

“It’s no longer an issue of just responding to a short-term event,” Uejio said. “We have to shift our thinking entirely and our governing structures toward managing this kind of heat exposures.”