Parsons L A, Lo F, Ward A, Shindell D, Raman S R
Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University Durham NC USA.
Global Science The Nature Conservancy Durham NC USA.
Geohealth. 2023 Aug 10;7(8):e2023GH000809. doi: 10.1029/2023GH000809. eCollection 2023 Aug.
As the globe warms, people will increasingly need affordable, safe methods to stay cool and minimize the worst health impacts of heat exposure. One of the cheapest cooling methods is electric fans. Recent research has recommended ambient air temperature thresholds for safe fan use in adults. Here we use hourly weather reanalysis data (1950-2021) to examine the temporal and spatial evolution of ambient climate conditions in the continental United States (CONUS) considered safe for fan use, focusing on high social vulnerability index (SVI) regions. We find that although most hours in the day are safe for fan use, there are regions that experience hundreds to thousands of hours per year that are too hot for safe fan use. Over the last several decades, the number of hours considered unsafe for fan use has increased across most of the CONUS (on average by ∼70%), with hotspots across the US West and South, suggesting that many individuals will increasingly need alternative cooling strategies. People living in high-SVI locations are 1.5-2 times more likely to experience hotter climate conditions than the overall US population. High-SVI locations also experience higher rates of warming that are approaching and exceeding important safety thresholds that relate to climate adaptation. These results highlight the need to direct additional resources to these communities for heat adaptive strategies.
随着全球变暖，人们将越来越需要经济实惠且安全的方法来保持凉爽，并将高温暴露对健康的最严重影响降至最低。最便宜的降温方法之一是电风扇。最近的研究推荐了成年人安全使用风扇时的环境空气温度阈值。在此，我们使用每小时的气象再分析数据（1950 - 2021年）来研究美国大陆（CONUS）被认为适合安全使用风扇的环境气候条件的时空演变，重点关注社会脆弱性指数（SVI）较高的地区。我们发现，尽管一天中的大部分时间都适合安全使用风扇，但仍有一些地区每年会有数百到数千小时的温度过高，不适宜安全使用风扇。在过去几十年里，美国大陆大部分地区被认为不适宜安全使用风扇的小时数有所增加（平均增加约70%），美国西部和南部出现了热点地区，这表明许多人将越来越需要替代的降温策略。生活在社会脆弱性指数较高地区的人经历更炎热气候条件的可能性比美国总体人口高1.5至2倍。社会脆弱性指数较高地区的变暖速度也更快，正在接近并超过与气候适应相关的重要安全阈值。这些结果凸显了需要将更多资源导向这些社区，以制定热适应策略。
