Two trends are dominating this summer – high temperatures and high inflation. These two extremes combine to create a crisis that rarely makes headlines.

Workers may die in increased numbers because they can't afford to stay cool. This isn't hyperbole. It's a predictable consequence of policy choices that leave working Americans choosing between the cost of the cooling they need to recover from work in extreme heat and the costs of other necessities of life, like food, rent and health care.

The connection between the affordability and heat crises is straightforward, but troubling. Workers exposed to extreme heat are significantly more vulnerable to heat’s adverse effects if they cannot cool off during their off-hours.

Our bodies need adequate rest and recovery periods to handle occupational heat exposure. When workers return home exhausted after laboring in the heat, they need effective cooling interventions like air conditioning to cool their bodies and allow them to recover before going out into the heat again.

In addition, they need indoor temperatures that allow for quality sleep – not the tossing and turning that comes with an overheated home at night. Without that nighttime cooling, heat stress compounds.

Heat takes a toll, even after workers clock out

Not all workers have access to adequate cooling at home. But even for workers who do, when inflation spikes and household budgets tighten, low- and middle-income families often reduce their air........

© USA TODAY