Longhorns are no strangers to the Texas heat. The brutal sun and oppressive humidity, paired with long walks between stuffy classrooms, only make it harder to stay cool.
Neuroscience freshman Melinda Dae has struggled with the infamously oppressive heat, which she said can make her feel constantly dirty, uncomfortable and exhausted. It keeps her inside during the day in the hotter months, though she said she wishes she could study and spend time outside while the sun is up and not have to wait until the sun goes down to get fresh air.
“At the beginning of the semester, I couldn’t do anything outside,” Dae said. “I was just going from building to building. I just needed some fresh air a lot of the time, and I wasn’t able to get that because it was so hot.”
Austin experienced its hottest summer on record in 2023, and summer heat typically lasts through September. Climate projections from the UT-City Climate CoLab, a team that unites city leadership and UT leadership to address climate topics in Austin, indicate that summers will continue to get hotter as the effects of climate change become more extreme. Temperatures are expected to reach 110 degrees regularly, and if high emissions continue, maximum temperatures are expected to increase by 10 degrees by 2030.
Student Life & Academics
As president of the Texas Men’s lacrosse team, business sophomore Xavier Collette knows how to recognize and mitigate the risks of heat exhaustion.
“You’re essentially playing a super high-intensity sport, in temperatures that’ll eclipse around 110 degrees … so it gets pretty brutal,” Collette said. “It’s definitely a struggle. You’ll see a lot of kids just pass out. They’ll have to stop playing because it’s really quite intense.”
To protect against the heat, Collette prioritizes preparation. The men’s lacrosse team works with staff from Ascension Medical, who are present at games to keep the athletes hydrated and protect them from overheating. The team also hosts their practices later in the evening to avoid high mid-day temperatures. Collette said heat exhaustion isn’t a too common occurrence, but it remains important that players keep the heat in mind, especially during tournament games in May.
“If you don’t think about (the heat), you can put yourself into a lot of trouble,” Collette said. “Stay hydrated, notice when you’re getting lightheaded and fatigued, because you do not want to have a heat stroke. … We never want to face an issue where players can’t play because of the heat. ”
Students who have moved to Austin from further north also struggle with adapting to the heat in Austin. Government junior Varsha Dasari moved to Texas from Pennsylvania and has had to adjust to the harsher summers in Austin. Dasari interned at the Texas Capitol last summer and struggled to stay comfortable in her suit with the hot, dry summer heat.
“It’s been an adjustment,” Dasari said. “The summers are excruciating. … Not only is it hot, but it’s dry, and I feel like it’s unbearable at times.”
Dasari said she misses Pennsylvania’s seasons, especially in comparison to the long summers and short falls in Texas.
“I definitely think that seasons make people a little more cheery, it gets you more in the spirit,” Dasari said. “When holidays come around in Texas, the weather isn’t really changing, but I feel like a big part of how I view holidays, and different months and seasons, is associated with the weather.”
According to an article from Edweek, high temperatures can also impact academic performance. A Harvard study found that students performed worse on New York City high school exams when it was 90 degrees compared to when it was 72 degrees.
Dasari said heat may also play a role in affecting motivation.
“I think (the heat) makes me more miserable,” Dasari said. “While you’re walking to (far away classes), it intrinsically doesn’t motivate you to go to class. And if you’re sweating by the time you get to class, you’re just annoyed, and your brain isn’t functioning as much as you’d like it to be. Weather does play a role in mood, and mood plays a big role in work ethic and work effort, so it goes hand-in-hand.”
How is heat being addressed?
The Campus Environmental Center works to improve sustainability amidst rising temperatures as the largest student-run center for environmentalism at UT. This organization functions under the Office of Sustainability and encompasses four different project teams: Green Events, Trash to Treasure, Environmental Justice Collective and UT Microfarm, each addressing one broad aspect of sustainability.
“Our mission is to catalyze a sustainable culture at UT and create accessible options for people to get involved with different avenues of sustainability,” External CEC Director Olivia Navarro said. “While I know that climate anxiety can be really heavy to bear at times, there are really positive things happening in our community at UT.”
Navarro said that by reducing waste, hosting campus cleanups and sustainably sourcing the UT Outpost, the CEC teams are in turn reducing emissions that contribute to climate change. This organization also hosts presentations to raise awareness and education on sustainable practices, encouraging habits to strengthen the fight against climate change. Navarro said it is important to address climate and sustainability issues in a positive way.
“I’ve always had a little bit of anxiety about climate change … (and I think that) learning (about) actionable items and realistic changes that we can make in our lives brings me hope and takes some weight off my shoulders,” Navarro said. “Real change has to be made, and the best way to do that is through taking small steps forward as a community, which will hopefully set us up for success.”
What does the future look like?
UT Austin adopted its first sustainability plan in 2016, with the most recent update in April 2021, according to the Office of Sustainability. This plan outlines goals for engagement, academics, emissions, and operations, calling for each major University unit to adopt a sustainability plan by 2025 and provide all undergraduate and graduate students “an understanding of, and proficiency in, sustainability within their discipline.”
The plan has set a goal to make all campus operations carbon-neutral by 2033 and intends to strengthen existing sustainability efforts as they relate to energy, food, water, infrastructure and waste in University operations.
The Longhorn Wellness Center established Longhorns Under the Sun, a program dedicated to keeping the community safe in the heat. The program launched an initiative that placed sunscreen dispensers in various outdoor areas to provide free access to sun protection, and has worked to increase the number of hydration stations around campus. They also provide safety information on their website, detailing how to use clothing, shade, sunscreen and water to stay safe in the sun.
Students are hoping to see further efforts to address the uncomfortable heat on campus. Finance and math senior Joie Li said the heat on Speedway bothers her as she walks the long distance between her classes. Although water fountains are regularly made available at campus events like football games and orientation, Li feels it could be helpful to have these stations available in major areas year-round.
“I’ve always thought, ‘Oh, it’s Texas. We’ll have to deal with it forever,’” Li said. “But if we had more (water) stations on campus, that could help.”
Navarro said the future of sustainability on campus looks like collective action by the community. Implementing systems that work from the ground-up is her best vision of the future of sustainability on campus.
“The Campus Environmental Center is hopefully going to be a place where (sustainability) can grow and where people can come learn about new things,” Navarro said. “Hopefully, everyone adopts sustainable behaviors, and it has a ripple effect, until it’s all common practice. It’s about creating systems that are reciprocal and are able to be maintained in the future, so we’re all able to live a relatively normal life.”
