Heat-related Mortality, Air Conditioning and Inequality in the US

Excess heat, made worse by climate change, kills thousands of people each year in the U.S. Air conditioning (AC) is highly effective in preventing heat-related mortality, but also conveys appreciable harms, including emissions of greenhouse gases and fine particulate matter from power generation, power outages due to high AC use on hot days, and contributions to the urban heat island effect. This project aims to make the first county-level estimate of air conditioning use across the United States and to reveal the extent to which air conditioning use reduces heat-related mortality, and among whom. The project will also begin to examine AC use with an aim of informing policy about the trade-offs between the benefits and harms of increased AC use as a public health measure, geographically and among different populations.