Howe Peter D, Wilhelmi Olga V, Hayden Mary H, O'Lenick Cassandra
Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, 5215 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322, USA.
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA.
Appl Geogr. 2023 Mar;152:102876. doi: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.102876. Epub 2023 Jan 16.
Extreme heat is a major health hazard that is exacerbated by ongoing human-caused climate change. However, how populations perceive the risks of heat in the context of other hazards like COVID-19, and how perceptions vary geographically, are not well understood. Here we present spatially explicit estimates of worry among the U.S. public about the risks of heat and COVID-19 during the summer of 2020, using nationally representative survey data and a multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) model. Worry about extreme heat and COVID-19 varies both across states and across demographic groups, in ways that reflect disparities in the impact of each risk. Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino populations, who face greater health impacts from both COVID-19 and extreme heat due to institutional and societal inequalities, also tend to be much more worried about both risks than white, non-Hispanic populations. Worry about heat and COVID-19 were correlated at the individual and population level, and patterns tended to be related to underlying external factors associated with the risk environment. In the face of a changing climate there is an urgent need to address disparities in heat risk and develop responses that ensure the most at-risk populations are protected.
极端高温是一种主要的健康危害，且因持续的人为气候变化而加剧。然而，人们如何在新冠疫情等其他危害的背景下看待高温风险，以及这种认知在地理上如何变化，目前尚不清楚。在此，我们利用具有全国代表性的调查数据和多层次回归及后分层（MRP）模型，给出了2020年夏季美国公众对高温和新冠疫情风险担忧程度的空间明确估计。对极端高温和新冠疫情的担忧在不同州和不同人口群体中存在差异，这反映了每种风险影响的差异。由于制度和社会不平等，黑人和非裔美国人以及西班牙裔或拉丁裔人群在新冠疫情和极端高温中面临更大的健康影响，他们也往往比非西班牙裔白人人群更担心这两种风险。对高温和新冠疫情的担忧在个体和总体层面上存在关联，且模式往往与风险环境的潜在外部因素有关。面对不断变化的气候，迫切需要解决高温风险方面的差异，并制定应对措施，以确保最易受影响的人群得到保护。
