Brian G. Henning: We all have a role to play in preparing for future heat waves

Two years ago this week, the Northwest experienced an unprecedented “heat dome.” The impact on human health and life was devastating. In Spokane County, at least 19 of our neighbors lost their lives to the extreme heat.

The ages of the victims ranged from 36-year-old Andre Pharr — who died in his air-conditionless apartment on West Second Avenue — to 84-year-old Beverly Martin—who lived in Latah Valley. The obituary for 81-year-old Lillian Smith, from Spokane Valley, describes her as “outgoing, friendly and a wine connoisseur, Lillian loved arts and crafts, traveling, reading books, and movie watching.” Another resident of the Valley, David DeVleming, who died of heat exposure on his 81st birthday, was described as “always fun loving and mischievous.”

As high as the official death toll is, it is just the tip of an iceberg of suffering. Looking below the surface, we see that a lot of people didn’t die but did get sick. In June and July of 2021, the WA Department of Health recorded 293 visits to the emergency room for heat-related illness in Spokane County, more than seven times the number the year before. Tragically, the 2021 Northwest Heat Dome was the worst natural disaster in Washington State history.

This is a disturbing realization, especially given that extreme heat events are expected to increase in frequency as heat-trapping gases continue to change our climate. That is why the Gonzaga Climate Center launched “Spokane Beat the Heat” (http://www.gonzaga.edu/BeatTheHeat). Its goal is to help our region understand and respond to the challenge of extreme heat so that fewer people get sick or die.

First, we wanted to better understand the extent of the problem, starting with how heat is spatially distributed. Through a community-minded collaboration involving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the City of Spokane, The Lands Council, 350 Spokane, and KXLY Chief Meteorologist Kris Crocker, 40 volunteers collected more than 43,000 heat and humidity measurements that were then compiled into high-resolution interactive maps. What these maps reveal is that — because of less green space and more roads, parking lots, and buildings — some areas in Spokane are “urban heat islands.” At the same time and on the same day, temperatures between two neighborhoods can vary as much as 13.9 degrees. In one neighborhood it could be 90 degrees and, just a few blocks away, it could be 100 degrees.

Further research in collaboration with the Department of Health revealed that, in Spokane, if you are living below the poverty line or if you are Black or Indigenous, you are statistically more likely to also live in an urban heat island. In our community, heat is not evenly distributed and not everyone is equally at risk of heat-related illness and death. Thanks to this research, we now know what areas are most in need of cooling centers, green roofs, street trees, shade structures, splash pads, and pools. This is important progress!

Beat the Heat followed up the urban heat island mapping project with a city-wide survey. Interest from the community was overwhelming, with nearly 1,800 responses. Initial analysis reveals that almost a quarter of respondents said that they have no access to air conditioning (AC) and, of those who do have it, one in five indicated that sometimes they could not afford to run their AC. This reveals that summer heat waves are not simply a summer version of a winter problem that primarily affects unhoused people. Extreme heat endangers not only that vulnerable population but also many thousands of our neighbors who live in a house or apartment without air conditioning or can’t afford to run it.

Eighty-eight percent of respondents said that they do not plan to leave their home during an extreme heat event. This confirms what City leaders have noticed; namely, not very many people are making use of cooling centers. Perhaps this isn’t surprising, given that, for their entire lives, people in Spokane have been able to manage through summer heat by opening windows at night and closing them during the day. We are now coming to learn that staying in a home without AC during a severe heat wave could be deadly.

In addition to cooling centers and tree plantings, it is also clear that we need education to help improve understanding and shift habits so that everyone can stay safe. Gonzaga’s Climate Center has partnered with the Spokane Regional Health District to create heat health awareness information to spread awareness and help households be better prepared for the next heat dome.

So, what can we do to be better prepared for future heat waves? That is the subject of a new report, “In the Hot Seat: Saving Lives from Extreme Heat in Washington State.” (http://cig.uw.edu/hot-seat-2023)

This practical report explains that, in the short term, we encourage use of air-conditioned spaces like cooling centers or find ways to help people get air-conditioned spaces in their homes through programs such as SNAP (https://www.snapwa.org/cool), and by checking on our neighbors to make sure they have what they need. It turns that we can presently anticipate heat waves in the Spokane area with roughly a week’s notice, and are even able to provide specifics on their severity a few days out, so there is time for preparation. In the longer term, we should strive to provide more tree canopy and reflective surfaces to help cool our cities, better protections for people who work outside, and a shady spot to wait for the bus.

The key challenge is that the authority to provide these heat adaptation resources cuts across more than a dozen state and local government agencies. It will take a coordination of local, state, and federal funds, and it will take individual and community commitment and understanding to make sure the funding is deployed effectively. This adds up to a massive effort that will take time and determination. But it is one that we have the resources, expertise, and knowledge to undertake.

The 2021 Heat Dome was a warning for the coming impacts of climate change. The time and resources we invest now will not only save lives in the next heat wave, they will help set us on a path to making Spokane more climate resilient.

Brian G. Henning, Ph.D., is director of the Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment.