As I write, my skin is sweating. My body is hot to the touch. I’m tired and dehydrated no matter how many glasses of water I consume. I’m not sick. It’s just too hot.
Outside, the temperature is 102 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. Inside, the thermostat reads 88 in the coolest part of my house. My bedroom is over 90, which makes it tough to sleep. There are still several more days of extreme heat in the forecast.
I’ve tried to keep my home as cool as possible to no avail. The windows are kept closed during the day and are opened at night. The blinds are shut to keep the sunlight out. There’s a small evaporative cooler provided by my landlord that runs loudly in the background. It helps a little, but only in one of the five rooms. There is no central air conditioning.
Fifteen years ago not having AC in this part of Colorado was probably fine. Now, it’s not. Thanks to climate change, today’s temperatures routinely soar into the hundreds and can stay there for days. At night, it no longer gets cool enough to provide adequate relief. Especially for those who live in upper floors of a multistory building, living without AC can be dangerous.
Prolonged exposure to extreme heat can kill. In 2023, thousands died in heat waves across the U.S. with more deaths expected as temperatures rise. For every person who died, more were hospitalized. Extreme heat also exacerbates existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and causes temporary symptoms including headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, nausea, dizziness, vomiting and lack of sleep.
The cumulative impact and stress of extreme heat is still being understood, but researchers know more strain is placed on the body during hotter conditions. This means everything from the heart to the kidney must work harder, and while we don’t know all the details, that’s unlikely to be good for anyone.
Unfortunately, under current laws, renters are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to extreme heat. Most states have mandates for landlords to provide heat in the winter. Most states do not have mandates for landlords to provide cooling in the summer. As record-breaking heat waves become more frequent, this is a massive problem that will further exacerbate health problems along economic, racial and gender divides.
One suggestion might be to secure portable AC or evaporative cooling units in each room, but that’s a pricey endeavor that most renters can’t afford. I’ve also learned firsthand that the use of portable window units has become subject to the whims of Colorado’s air quality as wildfire smoke and ozone alert days increase.
In short, those of us without central air cooling and filtering get stuck with the awful choice of excessive heat or unsafe air, and short of buying our own home, it’s not a problem we can seem to fix.
It’s for these reasons and more that Colorado lawmakers should take up the task of mandating home cooling requirements for renters in the next legislative session. In today’s climate, staying cool has become just as important as staying warm, making it a matter of public health and safety. We’ve already got heating requirements, so let’s make cooling requirements to match.
Of course, it’s worth noting that the air conditioning paradox is real: The hotter it gets the more we use air conditioning. The more we use air conditioning, the hotter it gets as more greenhouse gases are released. Unfortunately, we’ve reached a tipping point where going without air conditioning has become too dangerous, so the use of additional GHGs for cooling is unavoidable assuming we don’t want to contribute to the death toll.
As has been said many times before, if you think this summer is hot, just wait ’til you see what’s coming. In 30 years, today’s heat wave is likely to feel like a drop in the bucket.
For renters, staying cool can’t wait.
Trish Zornio is a scientist, lecturer and writer who has worked at some of the nation’s top universities and hospitals. She’s an avid rock climber and was a 2020 candidate for the U.S. Senate in Colorado.
