Summer heat recently brought a new hottest day on record. Experts say adapting to new higher temperatures won't be easy.
That trend of higher temperatures is only expected to continue in coming years.Visitors walk during a long-duration heat wave impacting much of California on July 9 in Death Valley National Park, California.As a result, many Americans face a tough tradeoff between paying higher cooling costs or suffering in the heat to save money, research finds.
During hot days, low-income households tend to go without cooling to save money. They spend 37% to 45% less on air conditioning than high-income households, JPMorgan Chase Institute found, based on an analysis of anonymized firm data.For most households, the higher electricity bills have limited effects on other spending.
Rising energy prices have a greater impact on lower-income families because those increases take up a larger share of their budgets, according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.For a high-income family, higher energy bills may push those costs from 3% to 3.1% of their budgets, a difference that likely won't substantially impact their lives, Wolfe said.
Those low-income families tend to disproportionately include young children, elderly or disabled individuals, which means higher heat also poses a significant health risk, Wolfe said.While policies can help those vulnerable populations, it is a race against time, as temperatures rise faster than expected, he said.
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