Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults – an aging population and climate change put ever more people at risk

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Deborah Carr, Boston University; Giacomo Falchetta, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and Ian Sue Wing, Boston University

(THE CONVERSATION) Scorching temperatures have put millions of Americans in danger during recent heat waves, with heat extremes hitting states from coast to coast.

Phoenix hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) or higher every day for over three weeks in July 2023. Other major cities, from Las Vegas to Miami, experienced relentless high temperatures, which residents described as “hell on earth.”

While the evening news runs footage of miserable sunbathers and joggers dousing themselves with water, these images conceal a growing hidden crisis: the millions of older adults who are suffering behind closed doors.

As researchers who study older adults’...