Understanding systemic cooling poverty

Temperature records are being broken across the world, leading to incalculable suffering. The poorest and most disadvantaged people, who contributed the least to global warming, are the ones bearing the most severe consequences of extreme heat because of their limited adaptive capacity. Understanding the needs of the most disadvantaged is imperative to develop fair and adequate strategies to adapt to extreme heat and keep cool. This Perspective discusses how to understand systemic cooling poverty with the aim of informing policy and practice to support vulnerable people. Heatwaves are more frequent and lead to considerable suffering, especially among the poorest and most disadvantaged people. This Perspective discusses the concept of systemic cooling poverty with the aim of informing policy and practice to support vulnerable groups.