As extreme heat events become more frequent and severe across the United States, older adults face growing health risks that extend far beyond discomfort, according to a new policy analysis published in Public Policy & Aging Report.

In the article, "On the Regional Spectrum of Barriers and Obstacles for Older Adults Facing Extreme Heat: Air Conditioning and Beyond," scientists argue that public policies have not kept pace with a warming climate and often fail to address the financial, physical, and structural barriers that prevent older adults from staying safe during heatwaves. These barriers include rising utility costs, the expense of maintaining or repairing cooling systems, mobility limitations, and aging housing stock ill-equipped to handle extreme heat.

Hospitals should make nurse staffing and supportive nurse work environments a core part of extreme heat emergency preparedness, according to a new editorial from Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR), as record-breaking temperatures and heat-related emergency department visits continue to rise across the United States. The editorial appears in Public Health Nursing.

TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 23, 2026) —

For older adults, no disaster is simple. In the opening editorial “Complex Emergencies and the Effects on Older Populations,” published in the October 2026 special issue of the Journal of Applied Gerontology, author and special issue guest editor Lindsay Peterson, PhD, explains how hurricanes, floods, wildfires, extreme heat, and other hazards can interact with chronic health conditions, reduced mobility, diminished social supports, and repeated disaster exposure to make preparation and recovery especially difficult.