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The Sun is for Everyone, the Heat for Some: Heatwaves and Mortality within Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Peçanha, Vinícius

    (LEME)

  • Rocha, Rudi

    (FGV São Paulo School of Business Administration)

  • Szerman, Dimitri

    (Amazon)

Abstract

If much of the variation in climate exposure occurs across short distances, then so too might the health consequences of heatwaves and the potential for place-based adaptation. We test this by combining high-resolution satellite data and administrative death records from Rio de Janeiro to estimate neighborhood-level heat effects. Nearly 60% of excess elderly mortality is driven by localized exposure differences. Yet as temperatures rise, spatial variation declines and city-wide shocks become more dominant. Preventive care and proximity to emergency services attenuate mortality, but only emergency access remains protective under localized exposure. Intervention points may thus lie hidden within city-level averages.

Suggested Citation

  • Peçanha, Vinícius & Rocha, Rudi & Szerman, Dimitri, 2026. "The Sun is for Everyone, the Heat for Some: Heatwaves and Mortality within Cities," IZA Discussion Papers 18601, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18601
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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