Concurrent extreme heat and power outages: Health impacts, exposure assessment, and research priorities

Zhihu Xu; Rongbin Xu; Gongbo Chen; Peng Bi; Hilary Bambrick; Michael Tong; Sue Heatley; Shanshan Li; Yuming Guo

doi:10.59717/j.tirv.2026.100015

The Innovation Reviews > 2026 Vol. 1 > No. 1 > 100015

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Concurrent extreme heat and power outages: Health impacts, exposure assessment, and research priorities

1.
Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
2.
Natural Hazards Research Australia, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
3.
Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, Chongqing University Central Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400014, China
4.
Environmental Change & Health Outcomes, School of Public Health, Adelaide University, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
5.
National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
6.
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Adelaide University, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia

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Corresponding author: yuming.guo@monash.edu
Received Date: August 10, 2026

Accepted Date: September 18, 2026

Published Online: September 20, 2026

The Innovation Reviews 1(1), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.tirv.2026.100015 | Cite this article

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PUBLIC SUMMARY

PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. Extreme heat becomes more dangerous when power outages disrupt cooling and essential services.
  
  Studies have linked concurrent heat and power outages to increased risks of some health outcomes, but the evidence remains limited and mixed.
  
  Better outage monitoring is needed to identify who is affected and understand the health risks.
  
  Reliable electricity, accessible cooling spaces and continuity of healthcare are essential priorities for protecting vulnerable communities.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

As extreme heat intensifies, growing reliance on electricity for cooling and essential services creates a critical vulnerability: power outages may amplify health risks precisely when protection is most needed. We conducted an evidence review to synthesize quantitative evidence on the health impacts of concurrent heat and electricity disruption, examine exposure assessment approaches, and identify priorities for research and preparedness. MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched, with the original searches completed in October 2025. Two reviewers independently screened records and charted study characteristics, exposures and health findings. Evidence was synthesized narratively without meta-analysis. Ten quantitative health reports met the core eligibility criteria, and one additional vulnerability assessment provided contextual evidence. Studies were concentrated in the United States, Japan and Australia and varied substantially in design, exposure definition and outcome assessment. Documented or satellite-inferred outages were associated with increased risks for selected outcomes, particularly respiratory hospital admissions and ambulance attendances, while findings for mortality and other outcomes were less consistent. Studies of electricity conservation reported inconsistent associations with heat-related mortality. Three scenario studies projected additional health burdens under assumed electricity or cooling failure rather than measuring observed outage-attributable effects. Outage assessment ranged from documented events and utility records to consumption-based and satellite-derived indicators, each with distinct limitations. A supplementary contextual analysis highlighted disparities in electricity reliability across development levels. Limited fine-scale outage data, potential confounding by concurrent hazards and sparse evidence on electricity-dependent populations constrain inference. Progress requires validated outage surveillance linked to health and vulnerability data, alongside evaluation of coordinated strategies spanning grid resilience, healthcare continuity, accessible community cooling and household preparedness.
- extreme heat /
- power outage /
- health impact /
- vulnerability /
- preparedness

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REFERENCES

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Xu Z., Xu R., Chen G., et al. (2026). Concurrent extreme heat and power outages: Health impacts, exposure assessment, and research priorities. The Innovation Reviews 1:100015. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.tirv.2026.100015

Xu Z., Xu R., Chen G., et al. (2026). Concurrent extreme heat and power outages: Health impacts, exposure assessment, and research priorities. The Innovation Reviews 1:100015. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.tirv.2026.100015

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Concurrent extreme heat and power outages: Health impacts, exposure assessment, and research priorities

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