“I had this realization that thought I was going to pass out,” said Cecale, who works as an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of North Texas. “I kept thinking to myself: 'Gosh, I’m going to die. This is killing me.'”
As an environmental anthropologist, Cecale is interested in researching climate change. So, her personal experience with the grueling Texas summer gave her an idea: She wanted to study how extreme heat affects North Texans’ daily lives.
For the research project, dozens of people were interviewed about how they change their behavior during the summer, Cecale said. Everyone answered that heat alters their life in some way or another.
A number of respondents said they stop playing sports, riding bikes and spending time outside, Cecale said. Some claimed to have quit their jobs so they could work remotely, or so they could avoid having to drive in a certain direction during the hottest part of the day.
Others might not leave their home during the summer months or may refrain from cooking, she added. Staying indoors also leads to an increase in screen time.
Cecale said when asked to describe how heat affects their mood, many participants used the same words. These included dramatic descriptors: “depressing,” “grueling,” “suffocating,” “oppressive” and “miserable.”
“My favorite of all of them was ‘Texas heat is hell on earth,’” she said.
Despite climate change leading to a spike in temperatures, respondents didn’t actually use that term, Cecale continued. Instead, they might have attributed their heat intolerance to getting older.
Shifting weather patterns could eventually change outdoor work, such as food production and livestock farming, Cecale said. Another potential effect is likely to strike most Texans’ hearts with fear: More extreme heat could lead to the power grid failing."Heat can be very, very deadly." – Dr. Courtney Cecale
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As we approach what’s likely to be yet another scorching summer, Cecale hopes that people, especially those with preexisting conditions, are careful. She doesn’t want to scare anyone with these warnings, but she does want them to be as cautious as possible in the heat.
“Very often there’s a cultural [idea] like ‘toughen up, it’s just a hot day,’” Cecale said. “But people do die from this, and I just think it’s very important for people to take seriously that heat can be very, very deadly.”
In fact, the Texas Standard reported that since 2010, at least 53 workers have died in the intense Texas heat. Most were people of color.
An increase in temperatures will hit North Texans of lower socioeconomic status hardest, said Dr. Azadeh Stark, an epidemiologist who teaches public health in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at UT Dallas. Poorer people often don’t have great ventilation at home.
Those living in certain parts of town, like South Dallas, could feel the heat more, largely because such areas are less green and have more concrete and cars, she said.
Asthma among children could also get worse because of an increase in ozone days. “Kids cannot come out to play, so it would contribute to obesity, and obesity feeds back into asthma,” Stark said. “So, it becomes a cyclical effect.”
Children aren’t the only ones whose health could suffer, though.
Stark said rising heat levels can lead to more lethargy and a decrease in time spent outdoors. In the long-term, it could aggravate the obesity epidemic and contribute to conditions like heat stroke.
But Stark said we can do something about climate change. She’s sold her own car and relies on public transport, the latter of which she encourages others to do, too. Cities can also increase their green areas.
To further combat climate change, Stark urges people to reduce their waste and to be vigilant with the land’s natural resources. She said she’s spent time reading about how much the Navajo value the earth: “They consider nature as a gift from the heavens, so we have to respect our nature the way they respect it.”
