A new nationwide study reveals significant racial and ethnic disparities in exposure to heatwaves and related economic losses across the United States. The research, published in Scientific Reports, found that Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian populations are more likely to live in areas with higher annual heatwave frequency compared to non-Hispanic whites. All minority groups examined face greater expected economic losses from heatwaves.
“These findings represent an important starting point for more detailed investigations on the adverse impacts of heatwaves for US minority populations and formulating appropriate policy interventions,” the study authors note.
After controlling for factors like socioeconomic status and geography, neighborhoods with higher percentages of Hispanic and American Indian residents still showed increased heatwave frequency and economic damage. American Indian communities were particularly impacted, facing disproportionate risks from both heatwave occurrence and associated losses.
The study also examined losses by consequence type, finding racial disparities persisted for agricultural damage and population impacts like fatalities and injuries. Hispanic and American Indian populations faced significantly higher agricultural and population-related losses.
“Since Native Americans are also known to be socioeconomically disadvantaged and face significant inequities in both health care and health status, they are likely to have limited coping capacity and higher vulnerability to heatwave exposure and economic losses than other groups,” the researchers explain.
These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to protect minority communities, especially Hispanic and Native American populations, from the growing health and economic threats posed by extreme heat events.
See “Racial/ethnic disparities in the distribution of heatwave frequency and expected economic losses in the US” (July 24, 2024)
