Deadly Heat of US Northwest Prompts Government Agencies To Take Action on Heat Relief

Lawmakers in the Pacific Northwest are observing several emergency heat relief bills focusing on helping vulnerable people.

The historic heatwave killed at least 200 people in Oregon and Washington.

The intensifying heat causes desperate measures on people

According to Phys.org, public health officials were struggling between June 25-28 as the region's unusual temperatures lasted for three days.

Temperatures in Portland reached three digits in three days, with a maximum of 116 degrees Fahrenheit (46.7 degrees).

Seattle temperatures reached a record 108F (42 C).

The first scientific analysis by the World Weather Attribution found that without anthropogenic climate change, deadly heat waves, wherein record temperatures would rise a few more degrees, would be nearly impossible.

In the western Pacific Northwest, summers are usually mild and air conditioning is less common than in other parts of the country.

According to data from the 2019 US Housing Survey, the National Census Bureau has installed primary air conditioning in about 91% of US homes.

This is compared to Portland at 78% and Seattle at 44%, as per Spectrum News.

In the report by Phys.org, Oriana Magnera, a manager with the environmental justice nonprofit Verde, told the Oregon lawmakers during their public hearing last week, "Most people who passed away had no access to lifesaving cooling devices such as air conditioning or heating and cooling pumps in their homes."

Oregon's first two proposed bills in heat relief have received bipartisan support.

A $5 million-budget is directed to the Oregon Health Authority to create a distribution program that air conditioners and air filters would deliver to low-income families.

They have also created an incentive program to make it easier for vulnerable households to purchase energy-efficient heat pump cooling systems by allocating $10 million for the said program.

Government Agencies are going to take action

According to Spectrum News, parliaments in the other two states have also passed bills in the last three years focusing on expanding and opening refrigeration facilities.

In 2019, the California State Legislature passed a law allowing aides to use vacant weapons as temporary cool homes for the homeless.

In 2021, the Illinois State Council passed a bill requiring communities to allocate space for use as cool shelters in extreme heat emergencies.

As per Phys.org, in Washington, lawmakers were considering a bill to expand the use of air conditioners in retirement homes.

However, the bill has not reached a legislative session and is unlikely to continue unless lawmakers decide to include it as a state budget item in the coming weeks.

Sen. Mark Mullet, a Democrat from Issaquah who sponsored the bill, said in a statement introducing the bill, "I know lots of homes here in the Pacific Northwest don't have air conditioning, and most of the year we don't need it."

He also added via Spectrum News, "Our swings in weather are getting more extreme, and nowadays a lack of air conditioning can be fatal."