October 19, 2026

As both the number of days with extreme temperatures fueled by climate change and the number of incarcerated Americans increases (roughly two million people are currently incarcerated in the U.S.), a new health crisis is emerging for many of those in Pennsylvania’s prisons, particularly for women, according to a recently published study in Nature Communications from researchers at the Dornsife School of Public Health.

Looking at two decades of data on extreme temperatures (less than 17 degrees, or more than 91 degrees Fahrenheit) in Pennsylvania’s prison facilities from 2000 through 2023, the team found a statistically significant association between those hot and cold temperatures and higher rates of death, transfers to outside medical facilities and admissions to a prison infirmary.

In the paper, the authors note that the data suggests that decarceration and maintaining the accessibility of prison healthcare may be needed to protect the health of those living in the commonwealth’s prisons.

The authors note that, while the data comes solely from Pennsylvania, the issues here, including the diversity of weather in the commonwealth, which has the sixth largest prison population in the United States, may be similar to those in prisons in other states.

The Drexel News Blog asked lead author Jackie Jahn, PhD, an assistant professor of Epidemiology in the Dornsife School of Public Health and the Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements, and Population Health Equity, about the significance of the findings.

Read the full Q+A with Jahn on the Drexel News Blog: Q+A: How Are Increasing Days of Extreme Temperatures Impacting the Health of Those in Pennsylvania’s Prisons?