Black New Yorkers continue to be more likely to die from heat-stress compared to their white counterparts, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s annual heat-related mortality report.
The report said the heat-related death rate of Black New Yorkers is twice as high as white New Yorkers and pins the difference on inequities stemming from systemic racism. The report estimates that each summer 350 people die prematurely in New York City because of hot weather. It defines the warm season months to be between May and September.
Of the 350 deaths, seven on average are caused directly by the heat, according to the report. The remaining 340 are heat-exacerbated deaths, which occur when high temperatures aggravate underlying health conditions. The same report from 2023 found that annual heat-related deaths in the city have increased over the last decade.
According to the health department, structural racism creates a lack of access to economic, health care, housing and energy systems, which disadvantages people of color. One such example is the access to air-conditioning at home.
“Among those who died from heat stress, the place of death was most often an un-air-conditioned home. Heat-exacerbated deaths were also more likely to occur at home, underscoring the importance of access to cooling at home,” the report said.
Amy Jaffe, Director of NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab said that cost is one of the main factors making marginalized communities of color more vulnerable to heat risks.
“When we think about climate justice, we think about in some respects, energy burden,” Jaffe said. “Are there populations that have more difficulty paying for their energy bill or they’re living in buildings that don’t have good cooling systems.”
She said for these groups, it can be a matter of getting food on the table or running air-conditioning.
The report, released on Tuesday, comes amid the city’s first stretch of dangerously hot weather this summer season. Temperatures are expected to pass 90 degrees on Thursday and Friday.
“Heat is one of the most dangerous of the weather emergencies that we face in New York City,” said NYC Emergency Management commissioner Zachary Iscol on WNYC’s “All Things Considered” Tuesday.
“Neighborhoods like the South Bronx, north Manhattan, eastern Brooklyn, Jamaica, Queens, those are some of the neighborhoods that are higher on the HVI, the heat vulnerability index.”
And as summer temperatures are expected to continue rising, the report said, there’s more risk for higher heat-related deaths, especially in poorer neighborhoods. The odds of dying from heat are higher in areas with a higher heat vulnerability index. Jaffe said neighborhoods with a higher HVI can often be five to ten degrees hotter than more affluent neighborhoods with greater tree coverage and shading.
Commissioner Iscol said the city has been focused on opening up cooling centers in vulnerable neighborhoods, but many of the city-designated cooling centers are closed Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday, according to the city comptroller’s office, leaving many New Yorkers with fewer free options to stay cool.
Jaffe also said cooling centers are not always the best solution to prevent heat-related deaths in the city.
“Part of the challenge is, can you convince people to go to a public place …or someplace where you’re asking people to come cool off? Some people might have mobility issues, so they are actually homebound, some people might just not want to go to a public place. COVID of course made that less desirable,” Jaffe said.
The health department called on the city to invest in future resiliency in neighborhoods across the city, like adding green infrastructure and to work with state and federal agencies to provide cooler indoor and outdoor working conditions.