2026/03/02 by Patience Chadambuka, Sandra Bhatasara, Talent Moyo · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Climate Change and Health Impacts #Climate Change and Sustainable Development #Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration
paper · doi:10.1177/00020397261430360
openalex publication_date 2026/03/02 · openalex created_date 2026/03/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Extreme weather patterns have become an inconvenient reality in contemporary times and coping strategies reveal entrenched social inequalities. This article focuses on how extreme heat impacts different populations located in different socio-economic spaces in the border town of Beitbridge in Zimbabwe. The study is based on qualitative data drawn from key informant interviews, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in Beitbridge. The structural violence lens is used to analyse how social inequalities disproportionately affect exposure and adaptation to extreme heat among different residents in a single town. Findings reveal that structural factors including unequal income, water and energy distribution across different socio-economic spaces condition people's (in)ability to cope with extreme heat. The study further revealed a lack of significant attention to extreme heat at the institutional level. Therefore, the article proposes for earnest political will and policies to address extreme heat.