Research Counts

By Benika Dixon

Extreme heat is increasing and most carceral facilities aren’t equipped to keep people cool. Across the nation, incarcerated people are suffering in these inadequate facilities, but incarcerated women are especially at risk of severe mental and physical health challenges caused by heat. Their lack of autonomy makes this already dire situation even worse. Without meaningful mitigation strategies in place to reduce exposure to extreme temperatures or to minimize its impacts, heat becomes a predictable and preventable threat to human health and dignity.

The Harsh Reality of Incarceration During Extreme Heat

Many carceral facilities lack the basic resources needed to manage extreme heat, including fans, air conditioning, adequate ventilation, access to cold drinking water, and designated respite areas where individuals can cool off. Incarcerated people are often made to work outdoors during extreme heat and engage in other physical activities that put them at risk. Attempts to avoid the heat using the means available to them can be denied on the basis of security concerns or with no justification at all.

Currently, more than a dozen states do not have air conditioning in all of their correctional facilities, leading to life-threatening conditions. Texas, which is one of the hottest states in the nation, has reported cells with temperatures that regularly reach 110 °F (and on at least one occasion a unit reached 149 °F). Legal advocacy organizations have argued that lack of air conditioning is a violation of basic constitutional rights, and even though a federal judge agreed, no action was taken to mandate it.

Physical Vulnerabilities of Women in Carceral Settings

For women and girls, these injustices compound other inequities related to their more complex health needs. Menstrual conditions, pregnancy and postpartum care, and higher rates of psychotropic drug prescriptions—which increase heat sensitivity—are just a few examples that demonstrate how women’s needs differ from men’s. Because the carceral system is designed primarily by and for men, women's access to resources is limited, and they face increased vulnerability to trauma, sexual victimization, and systemic neglect.

Reproductive health is also impacted by exposure to extreme heat. Studies have linked heat exposure to an increased risk of pre-term birth, stillbirth, and low birthweight. Experiencing extreme heat during pregnancy can lead to heat stress, hypertensive disorders, and other serious complications and these risks increase with the duration and extremity of the exposure.

Mental Health Impacts of Extreme Heat

Extreme heat can also take a significant toll on the mental health of incarcerated women, who often have higher rates of mental health disorders compared to incarcerated men. Research that my colleagues and I conducted along with our community partner, Lioness, found that women were not only impacted by the extreme temperatures and hazardous conditions they experienced while incarcerated, but that those experiences had detrimental and long-lasting mental health impacts.

We conducted focus groups with individuals formerly held in a women’s carceral facility to better understand their lived experiences during disasters. Many who were primary caregivers reported that the psychological toll of being separated from children or family members during such events weighed heavily on them, compounding their trauma and emotional distress. Lack of privacy, inadequate access to mental health care, and gender-insensitive responses to the needs of incarcerated women during heat emergencies further increased feelings of helplessness, isolation, and fear. Our findings also highlighted that the stresses regularly associated with climate hazards—information uncertainty, community disruption, and safety concerns, for example—are also exacerbated by the restricted autonomy, dehumanization, and punishment that is common in carceral facilities. 

A Crisis Within a Crisis

Incarcerated individuals endure crises such as poor sanitation, inadequate medical care, violence and abuse, and institutional neglect daily. These conditions become more dangerous when combined with extreme weather. For incarcerated women, these conditions are further heightened by other factors such as existing trauma, caregiver stressors, isolation, and continuous surveillance—and these compounding issues often persist after women are released.

Making matters worse, there is a lack of transparency and accountability related to extreme heat in carceral settings. Few states collect or report data on heat-related illnesses or deaths in such settings, making it difficult to truly assess the scale of the crisis. Moreover, there are no federal standards requiring prisons or jails to prepare for extreme weather events. Many facilities are not climate resilient and have not adopted structural or nonstructural mitigation measures. This regulatory and action gap leaves incarcerated populations at the mercy of worsening climate conditions.

Taking Action

Addressing these issues requires immediate policy attention. Climate adaptation standards that mandate cooling systems, adequate medical and mental health care, and disaster and hazards planning should be implemented. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women should be included in planning and response efforts, and both should be done with an intersectional approach that acknowledges the identities of those impacted.

Most importantly, we must ensure that the health and safety of incarcerated women are prioritized—not overlooked or treated with a one size fits all approach. Ultimately, protecting incarcerated women during extreme heat and hazardous conditions is not only a matter of public health, but a one of dignity, justice, and equity.