Wind chill in NYC is -17; Boston is -25...

[Divernan]

23. I agree - easier to survive extreme cold than extreme heat.

I've lived in the sweltering heat & humidity of the Washington/Baltimore area summers, not to mention the humid hell of Florida summers, as well as bone-chilling Chicago lake front, Wisconsin & Pennsylvania winters. When extreme weather circumstances include loss of electric power (heating/air conditioning), what are you gonna do? Re heat, you can only strip down so much - even stark naked in the privacy of your own home to avoid hyperthermia/heatstroke. But in the cold, you can always add layers of clothing/insulation to combat the cold - I'm a big fan of fleece & Patagonia brand long underwear.

However, I do find your "Just suck it up & deal with it" view lacks appropriate nuance and in particular is not realistic when it comes to those who lack heating/air conditioning, physical stamina, adequate food, clothing, shelter, etc.

For one thing, our bodies do adjust their abilities to deal with temperatures. After years in southern California and then 3 years in Florida, I found Pennsylvania winters to be extremely punishing the first several years. This year I had a college exchange student guest from Oman over the Christmas holidays, and even though she bundled up, the cold was extremely painful for her. We both had winter gloves on, for example, and she was getting tingling fingertips/frostbite within minutes of being out doors, whereas I had no problems at all.

A sub category of adjusting over time to extreme heat or cold is that "back then" once it got cold, it stayed cold for the season. Now our temps fluctuate with wild abandon. Here in SW Penn., it's sub-zero for a few days and then bob's-your-uncle we're up to 50 degrees for a couple of days, and then whoosh! minus 27 with the windchill.

Another factor is body mass index. Overweight people have more insulation, so to speak, from the cold, but suffer and sweat more in the heat.

I found this informative research article on the various negative impacts of extreme heat and extreme cold in areas such as health & mortality; transportation; agriculture; energy resources and water. http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/socasp/weather1/adams.html

Bottom line though, is that while young and/or healthy people with the financial resources can indeed suck it up and deal with extreme weather, this is not an option available to all, and the problem is greatly exacerbated by the extreme fluctuation in temps of global climate change.