Prisons and jails

Inside Climate News  -  A study published in March in the journal Nature Sustainability: Evaluating the heat exposure of more than 4,000 prisons, jails and immigration detention facilities across the U.S. since the 1980s, researchers found that the number of hot days per year increased at over 1,000 facilities—mainly in the South. They found the states of Texas, Florida, Arizona and Louisiana had the most exposure to potentially hazardous heat days—yet none provide universal access to air conditioning in state-run prisons. Overall, state prisons in Texas and Florida had the greatest exposure to hazardous heat, the researchers found, accounting for 52 percent of total exposure to hazardous heat days, despite holding 12 percent of America’s incarcerated population. The researchers say the study illuminates the urgency of improved infrastructure and policies to keep incarcerated people safe from extreme heat hazards that they cannot escape.