A federal case in Texas could change how we treat prisoners during hot weather

As heat waves intensify, advocates are pushing for protections for incarcerated people, who have little ability to escape dangerous temperatures.

A ruling in a federal trial could affect how prisons across the U.S. address the growing threat of extreme heat.

In April 2026, a federal district court in Texas heard a trial in which incarcerated individuals and advocacy groups sued the state over the lack of air conditioning in many of its prison housing areas. The court has not yet ruled in the case.

During the heat of a Texas summer, temperatures in uncooled areas of prisons can exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit – which plaintiffs argue violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

As of August 1, 2026, Texas state prisons had enough beds in air-conditioned housing for fewer than half the people incarcerated.

Exposure to extreme heat can cause deadly heat stroke and can also worsen other underlying health conditions. A 2022 studyfound that approximately 13% of deaths in Texas prisons during warm months between 2001 and 2019 were attributable to extreme heat.

As the climate warms, heat waves are getting longer, more frequent, and more intense – creating life-threatening conditions for people behind bars who have little recourse to protect themselves from the heat.

Benika Dixon, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University School of Public Health, has been concerned about this issue for years. In partnership with community organizations including Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance – a nonprofit led by formerly incarcerated girls, women, and gender-expansive people – she researches how extreme heat and other climate disasters affect incarcerated people.

Yale Climate Connections spoke with Dixon about this growing threat and what can be done to protect people.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Yale Climate Connections: What is it about prisons and jails physically that makes the facilities vulnerable to extreme heat?

Benika Dixon: When we’re talking about prisons, we’re looking at buildings that are built from brick or very heavy materials and very few windows or windows that people can open. Also, looking at the prison system in Texas, very few have air conditioning throughout the complete facility. So whereas I, as an individual, can adjust my air conditioning temperature as needed, or I can open windows, there is not that capability within a prison facility. And on top of that, you’re dealing with prisons that are often overpopulated. So we’re dealing with high temperatures and an extreme amount of people in one setting, and it can make for even more uncomfortable temperatures and health impacts than what we feel on a day-to-day basis.

YCC: Are there also barriers to even simple things like accessing cold water, for example?

Dixon: Things like access to clean, cold drinking water, access to air conditioning, being able to freely adjust air conditioning and temperatures – those are things that are not readily available.

Things like cooling centers are another option that we tend to use out here in the free world. These are, again, not options that are available to an incarcerated individual. Some of the facilities specifically in the state of Texas say that they do offer places for folks to go cool off, especially if they have certain health conditions, but that varies from facility to facility. You also have to take into account that as an incarcerated individual, they are at the hands of other individuals of power. So they don’t get to just make a decision to go grab a cold water out of a fridge. So no, they do not have the freedom and the access to many of the resources that should or could be readily available.

YCC: How do the routines and activities of incarcerated life contribute to the problem?

Dixon: There is limited movement within the prison facility. You may be an individual who is in a cell block or on a unit for long hours of the day. You may have a job that requires you to work outside in extreme heat. So these high temperatures are being felt around the clock, pretty much. There is very little reprieve. 

YCC: What are some of the physical and mental impacts of that exposure to extreme heat?

Dixon: There are folks who have respiratory issues. So if you’re someone who suffers from asthma, extreme heat is going to exacerbate conditions such as that. People who have heart conditions, diabetic individuals. They may be on psychotropic medications that don’t react well to heat. So there are a lot of people who are already [vulnerable to] extreme temperatures. When you also add on the additional stress of incarceration itself, it obviously makes for an even worse situation.

YCC: You’ve written that extreme heat can be particularly problematic for incarcerated women. Why is that?

Dixon: In our research, we found differences in some of the ways incarcerated women and incarcerated men may be treated in facilities. Incarcerated women also tend to, research shows, have an increased level of stress from things like having to worry about families, children, some of those issues. Also taking into account that you may have women who are pregnant who are incarcerated and what extreme temperatures can do to them in those settings. There are a lot of things and differences in the physical body of women and men that make women more susceptible to extreme heat changes.

Read: Extreme heat makes pregnancy more dangerous

YCC: Are there particular states where extreme heat in carceral facilities is of greatest concern?

Dixon: I would say here in Texas, it is probably of the greatest concern. As you know, we get well into the hundreds during the summer. And if we’re 100 degrees outside, once you add on looking at the heat index, you may see temperatures that rise into the 120s. And I think the highest temperature that we have reported in one of our previous studies was around 140 degrees.

And with climate change, obviously, we’re going to continue to see an increase in higher temperatures throughout the country. So I talk about the impact on Texas, but this is not just a Texas problem. It’s not just a problem that we’re seeing in facilities in the South, because you’re also starting to see extreme temperatures, extreme heat in the Northeast, where typically you don’t see as hot of days. And there are facilities in other states that do not have air conditioning, most likely because they don’t [typically] see those extreme temperatures.

YCC: What policies exist to help, and what more is needed?

Dixon: The policies vary across the country. They also vary across different levels. For instance, federal prisons do require air conditioning, but states vary. Some states do have universal air conditioning, where others don’t. But what we have continued to advocate for with our community partners is air conditioning at a reasonable temperature, which is 85 degrees.

There is a need and room for us to begin to think about this broadly and to develop policies that may go across states. This is really where we need help of those who are system-impacted or formerly incarcerated, because those are the individuals with the lived experience to really advocate for change across the country.

YCC: Why do you think this issue has been allowed to persist, and how does it relate to other injustices within the carceral system in general?

Dixon: I think a lot of it just is how we look at the carceral system in a form of punishment. Oftentimes, we look at incarcerated people as individuals who have [committed] a crime and are being punished for that crime. However, they are still humans. They are still individuals, and they deserve to be treated with humanity.

YCC: What can people do if they’re concerned about this issue or if they have a friend or loved one who’s incarcerated and they want to address this issue? Where do you recommend they begin?

Dixon: I would recommend that they look for organizations in their local community who are advocating for the needs of incarcerated individuals. I also encourage individuals to educate themselves by finding out what’s going on in their community with facilities in their area, whether they have air conditioning, and whether they are part of your city’s local disaster planning or disaster response plans. That’s where it starts: educating yourself on the facilities in your area, and then working with local advocacy programs and organizations to see where they need support.

This article was originally published by Yale Climate Connections.

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