This year, coming back to school looked different for me because instead of moving into a six-person suite in Mountainview College, I moved into an off-campus house. This move has had many pros and cons so far — I appreciate the extra space and having a room to myself, but cooking my own meals and setting aside time to drive to campus before class has been quite burdensome. However, in these first few weeks, I have had one major qualm: It is too hot.
While my two years in Binghamton have taught me to appreciate warm weather, and while I know that the lingering summer heat will soon be replaced with the dreadful winter cold, I have found not having central air conditioning, or even a window air conditioner, to be borderline unbearable on the few days we have had temperatures in the high 70s and 80s — even causing me to lose sleep and be unable to focus on my schoolwork.
Now, I recognize the trivial, first-world nature of my problem. I have been able to take steps that have, thankfully, relieved some of the heat — sleeping with a huge box fan aimed at my bed has been a game changer — but my experience got me thinking about a broader question: As the climate changes, and temperatures continue to climb past previous maximums in the summer, are houses and other buildings going to be suited to withstand weather conditions that were previously uncharacteristic in their regions?
In 2020, the New York Times reported that the city’s climate had shifted from a humid continental classification to a humid subtropical one, meaning that summer temperatures average about 72 degrees Fahrenheit and winter months tend to stay above 27 degrees Fahrenheit, on average. A 2024 risk assessment by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that the number of days when temperatures exceed 86 degrees Fahrenheit in the city has more than doubled over the past 50 years. Additionally, average annual temperatures in NYC are projected to increase by 2.7 to 3.9 degrees Fahrenheit by the 2030s. This warming is driven by a changing global climate, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use.
Considering that estimates suggest 850,000 New York City residents do not have air conditioning in their apartments, and that almost 600 New Yorkers die every year due to complications stemming from extreme heat, the continuing trajectory of climate change becomes even more concerning. And what about the additional estimates placing the number of unhoused residents at around 350,000 exposed to harsh sunlight and high heat when access to cooling centers is limited? Not to mention the fact that these burdens tend to fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color.
How do we ensure, with extreme heat and other climate change-related events — including heavy rainfall and extreme storms — that residents are kept safe, and that the housing and infrastructure conditions that they live and work in are effectively acting to protect them from the effects of climate change?
While addressing the root cause of these weather conditions by taking steps as a global community to reduce emissions and combat climate change is necessary to stop these impacts overall, local governments and administrators can intervene to mitigate the effects felt by residents.
Rooftop gardens and green walls are easy, efficient tools to reduce heat absorption and cool buildings by adding plant life to the concrete jungle of a city. Even simply painting rooftops white — a process known as “cool roofing” — is a method used around the world to reflect sunlight and cool the inside of buildings.
Currently, in New York City, steps are even being taken to require landlords to provide cooling to tenants, much in the same way they are already required to provide heat in the winter. While mandating air conditioning may present its own risks — including straining the electrical system and potentially increasing pollution, further contributing to climate change — this represents an important step in protecting citizens from bearing the burden of rising temperatures.
While I have largely focused on New York City, these same issues also exist in other areas of the country, including here in Binghamton. Historically, only around three days per year have seen temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but that number is expected to increase to between 11 and 23 days by mid-century. As the number of extremely hot days increases here, steps such as the green roofs and cool roofs I discussed earlier must be implemented in Binghamton — even on a smaller scale — to adapt the infrastructure and protect residents in the households without any sort of air conditioning.
I wish I could sit here and argue that we must fight climate change rather than adapt to it. That we must focus on reducing emissions, end fossil fuel use and prevent the extreme warming of our planet from continuing any further. But that argument has been made before, and while we are still on this path of climate change, the least we can do is ensure that residents are protected from its effects. This starts with assessing our infrastructure, housing conditions and making sure they remain livable as the future gets hotter.
So maybe the solution to my excessively hot housing is planting a garden on the roof. Or maybe I can continue blasting my box fan until fall rolls in, waiting for larger-scale changes to take place.
Danica Lyktey, Pipe Dream’s Opinions Assistant, is a junior double-majoring in psychology and philosophy, politics and law.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial.