Still dreaming of retiring to the Sun Belt?
As climate change sends summer temperatures soaring, older adults are increasingly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses in places like Phoenix.
In 2015, when Diana and Charles Cox were considering where to retire, they were driving their motorhome. through the southwest to visit several possibilities: Santa Fe, Sedona, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
They lived in San Jose, California for almost 20 years , but Ms. Cox was ending her practice as a biotechnology patent attorney, and her income was declining as taxes, housing, and other living expenses rose.
Phoenix won on cost further down, its international airport and many essential health care providers for two people with chronic illnesses. The couple purchased a home in a 55+ community in suburban Goodyear, Arizona in 2016. Knowing the summer heat would be intense there, they planned to spend the season in the Bay Area at their campsite -car.
But the pandemic has made traveling dangerous for years. Mr. Cox was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Ms Cox's father moved in and needed care. So they mostly spent the summer at Goodyear.
The number of older Americans like the Coxes who are exposed to extreme heat is increasing, a result of an aging population , of continued migration to places subject to heat and climate change. Researchers say the trend will only get worse.
"The places that are hot right now are precisely the ones that are getting old," said Deborah Carr, a sociologist at the Boston University and lead author of a recent study on the aging population and heat exposure.
Phoenix, long a retirement destination, has experienced an average of 108 days a year of temperatures over 100 degrees since 1970. But this year has been brutal: as of July 31, Phoenix had already reached 68 days this year with temperatures over 100 degrees. Temperatures hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 31 straight days, from the last day of June to the end of July, setting a record.
And the dangerous heat returned to the city fair this weekend.
Summer in suburban Phoenix has been "miserable," Ms. Cox said, mid-morning, as the temperature at Goodyear had already reached 106. "You really can't go out and do things. We haven't been as social as I would have liked."
This year was particularly miserable as a delayed home improvement project forced the couple to move into their motorhome. for three months, starting in June. The vehicle's two air conditioning units are struggling. The same goes for the refrigerator, which wilts salads and spoils milk.
"A few days ago it was up to 92 degrees here,” Ms. Cox said. "The cats were prostrate under the ceiling fan." She called indoor heat "uncomfortable, but not deadly".
Heat can indeed be deadly, especially for older people. Last year, Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, had 425 heat-related deaths, a 25% increase from 2021. Two-thirds occurred in people over age 50. p>
The sur- 65 population increased by 52% in Arizona between 2009 and 2019; it rose 57% in Nevada and 47% in Texas. This reflects the aging of current residents, but also the continued migration to these states.
As climate change sends summer temperatures soaring, older adults are increasingly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses in places like Phoenix.
In 2015, when Diana and Charles Cox were considering where to retire, they were driving their motorhome. through the southwest to visit several possibilities: Santa Fe, Sedona, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
They lived in San Jose, California for almost 20 years , but Ms. Cox was ending her practice as a biotechnology patent attorney, and her income was declining as taxes, housing, and other living expenses rose.
Phoenix won on cost further down, its international airport and many essential health care providers for two people with chronic illnesses. The couple purchased a home in a 55+ community in suburban Goodyear, Arizona in 2016. Knowing the summer heat would be intense there, they planned to spend the season in the Bay Area at their campsite -car.
But the pandemic has made traveling dangerous for years. Mr. Cox was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Ms Cox's father moved in and needed care. So they mostly spent the summer at Goodyear.
The number of older Americans like the Coxes who are exposed to extreme heat is increasing, a result of an aging population , of continued migration to places subject to heat and climate change. Researchers say the trend will only get worse.
"The places that are hot right now are precisely the ones that are getting old," said Deborah Carr, a sociologist at the Boston University and lead author of a recent study on the aging population and heat exposure.
Phoenix, long a retirement destination, has experienced an average of 108 days a year of temperatures over 100 degrees since 1970. But this year has been brutal: as of July 31, Phoenix had already reached 68 days this year with temperatures over 100 degrees. Temperatures hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 31 straight days, from the last day of June to the end of July, setting a record.
And the dangerous heat returned to the city fair this weekend.
Summer in suburban Phoenix has been "miserable," Ms. Cox said, mid-morning, as the temperature at Goodyear had already reached 106. "You really can't go out and do things. We haven't been as social as I would have liked."
This year was particularly miserable as a delayed home improvement project forced the couple to move into their motorhome. for three months, starting in June. The vehicle's two air conditioning units are struggling. The same goes for the refrigerator, which wilts salads and spoils milk.
"A few days ago it was up to 92 degrees here,” Ms. Cox said. "The cats were prostrate under the ceiling fan." She called indoor heat "uncomfortable, but not deadly".
Heat can indeed be deadly, especially for older people. Last year, Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, had 425 heat-related deaths, a 25% increase from 2021. Two-thirds occurred in people over age 50. p>
The sur- 65 population increased by 52% in Arizona between 2009 and 2019; it rose 57% in Nevada and 47% in Texas. This reflects the aging of current residents, but also the continued migration to these states.
What's Your Reaction?
