Expanding the Focus: Toward Heat Equity in Rural Areas
Anne-Lise Boyer, Minwoo Ahn and Ladd Keith, University of Arizona
Keywords: Heat resilience, Equity, Rural communities, Climate Vulnerability
The newly released National Heat Strategy for the United States recognizes on page 3:
“the many challenges our country faces in becoming more heat resilient, including the fact that many populations are disproportionately affected by extreme heat. This includes but is not limited to: workers in hot environments, (...) Tribal Nations, Indigenous communities, rural communities, (...) and more.”
With the summer of 2024 being yet another record-breaking heat season and media coverage multiplying worldwide to highlight temperature records in cities scorched by extreme heat, public attention is gradually increasing. However, the efforts to address heat remain limited compared to other climate hazards such as hurricanes or wildfires. This disparity is especially evident when considering the overlooked issue of extreme heat in rural areas. For example, in the U.S., media coverage addressing the impact of extreme heat on rural communities are few. They include a piece in The New York Times (June 2024) discussing extreme heat on the East Coast; an article from NPR (August 2024) that focuses on seniors and emergency calls for heat-related illnesses in Montana, and a High Country News article (August 2023) examining local adaptation strategies on the Navajo Nation in the Southwest. These three articles, commendable for their existence, stand out particularly because they acknowledge the lack of coverage on heat-related issues in rural areas while addressing the invisible threat posed by extreme heat.
2024 marked a “heatshed moment” (Keith and Meerow, 2024), as increasing heat hazards due to climate change prompted more institutions to acknowledge these challenges and begin establishing governance frameworks and allocating resources to build a heat-resilient nation. Heat resilience is defined as the proactive mitigation and management of heat across the numerous systems and sectors it impacts (Keith and Meerow, 2022). However, the invisibility of heat issues raises significant equity concerns on two fronts: first, equitable heat response between urban and rural areas, and second, equity within rural areas themselves, where multiple vulnerability factors intersect. Rural communities face unique challenges, such as the prevalence of outdoor work, economies heavily reliant on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and tourism, aging and declining populations, and sparse, sometimes deteriorating infrastructure. Additionally, older, poorly insulated housing can often worsen indoor heat exposure. Recent studies demonstrate that rural areas are vulnerable to extreme heat and may experience heat-related health risks comparable to, or even exceeding, those faced in urban settings (Sugg et al., 2016; Cresswell et al., 2023).
A review of scientific literature shows the predominance of heat research focused on cities, where a greater proportion of the population, the urban heat island effect, and growing awareness of the phenomenon attract more focus. In this dominant field of heat research skewed towards cities, rural areas are often used merely as comparative references to emphasize the higher temperatures in cities. Thus, the focus on urban heat resilience has produced strategies like cool pavement, urban forestry, and cooling centers, which are often impractical for rural communities. This focus on urban versus rural studies is not limited to heat research, but is widely acknowledged across many disciplines (Frank and Reiss, 2014).
A closer examination of the literature reveals two main research areas on rural heat resilience. The first area explores climate projections and crop yields of major cereals, assessing how extreme heat and drought—intensified by climate change—could significantly alter agricultural practices in the Great Plains and Corn Belt. For instance, sorghum, is highly sensitive to temperature increases, with a 2°C rise in growing season temperatures causing an average yield reduction of 24%, casting doubt on its viability as a climate-resilient alternative (Miller et al., 2021). The second area addresses public health, labor issues, and environmental justice, focusing on the conditions of farmworkers, especially immigrant and seasonal workers in hot states like California and Florida, who experience occupational heat-related mortality rates 35 times higher than workers in other sectors (Greco, 2023).
Despite the growing relevance of challenges like climate change, food security, and energy security (in this case, specifically related to cooling needs) in rural research, there are very few case studies in the U.S. that examine how rural communities are addressing heat (Houghton et al., 2017; Guthman et al., 2022). These studies are essential to understanding both the barriers rural communities face and the successes they achieve. Addressing heat hazards requires developing heat governance, meaning institutions, coordination, and policies at all levels of government and across sectors (Keith et al., 2021). Rural research on heat is essential to inform these efforts, as they provide insights into how rural communities’ unique identity, social cohesion, local knowledge, and distinct economic and environmental conditions shape their perceptions and responses to extreme heat (Williams et al., 2017).
Clark and Ward (2023) emphasize that rather than viewing vulnerability solely through an urban versus rural lens, it is more critical to understand the specific conditions that make certain populations more vulnerable. It is essential to prioritize heat equity in both research and practice, ensuring rural communities are equipped with the resources and support needed to address to extreme heat and mitigate and manage its impacts. This includes addressing disparities in access and affordability of healthcare, housing, and energy, considering the distance to essential infrastructures and services, and developing tailored rural heat resilience strategies that leverage the unique strengths and address the specific challenges of rural communities. Only by focusing on these disparities can we ensure that heat resilience is effective and equitable for all communities, regardless of geographic location.
Press articles on rural heat
“Rural America Lags Cities in Helping People Beat the Heat”, Searcey Dionne, New York Times (Online), New York Times Company. Jun 20, 2024.
“In Montana, 911 calls reveal hidden impact of heat waves on rural seniors”, Health Reporting in the States, August 7, 2024, Heard on Morning Edition From Montana Public Radio, Aaron Bolton, NPR.
“Extreme heat hits the rural Southwest: How community members keep one another safe”, Brooke Larsen, August 10, 2023, High Country News.
References:
Keith, L., and Meerow, S., 2024. Our “Heatshed” Moment is Now. Cityscape.
Acknowledgment: This work is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Adaptation Programs, formerly the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program, through Grant NA17OAR4310288 with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest program at The University of Arizona.
— Anne-Lise Boyer, Minwoo Ahn, and Ladd Keith
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