Heat in the Shadows: How Heat Waves are Harming Rural Americans

Summer 2025 has already been a record-breaking year for high temperatures, with even the northern states beginning to buckle under intense heatwaves. The Pacific Northwestern states are especially unprepared for the intensity of the summer weather. While previously chilly northeastern cities like Boston are struggling with their first foray into extreme heat, it poses an even greater risk for rural communities. Rural America has a higher median age, making its inhabitants less able to physiologically adapt to new weather patterns. Additionally, rural American homes simply lack adequate infrastructure to cope with heat of this level, with the large population of mobile homes not equipped with proper climate control, significant risk of power outages due to outdated facilities, and lack of public transportation. Rural households also tend to have a lower median income, meaning less money to dedicate to cooling their homes or finding ways to beat the heat.

Despite the increased risk posed for many rural Americans, the majority of resources and visibility is reserved for cities. Cities have public spaces like shopping malls and grocery stores packed between tree canopies open to the public. The luckier ones even have cooling centers separated by shaded corridors designed to provide relief for any passerby. Rural communities are too far apart to benefit from tree canopies or cooling corridors, and often lack a central location for a cooling center.

What keeps the countryside cool? Education and communication. The Sandhills region of North Carolina faces heightened risk for heat-illness due to its rural location and aging population. The NC Department of Health and Human Services has been working to promote heat safety education in key locations throughout NC since 2018. When provided cooling centers are too far to make an impact, residents can receive fans or window units provided through a program designed to aid and protect older adults. North Carolina is the only US state to have a different hazard mitigation program for each of its counties.