By Isaac Conrad
(Photo courtesy of An Instant of Time - stock.adobe.com)
As part of the newly launched National Heat Strategy (NHS), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), along with other federal agencies, will help develop science-based solutions to improve resources, communication, and decision-making related to dangerous heat.
The strategy is coordinated by the White House Interagency Working Group on Extreme Heat and the interagency National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) and is led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
A world map plotted with color blocks depicting percentiles of global average land and ocean temperatures for the full year 2023. Color blocks depict increasing warmth, from dark blue (record-coldest area) to dark red (record-warmest area). (Map courtesy of NOAA)
Extreme heat, exacerbated by climate change, is one of the greatest health challenges faced in the U.S. and around the globe. Thousands die from heat exposure every year, and temperatures and the frequency of heat waves are projected to keep rising. The summer of 2023 was Earth’s hottest on record, and the summer of 2024 has continued to break high temperature records.
NIEHS-supported researchers have investigated the effects of heat for decades, outlining how extreme heat affects the heart, kidneys, mental health, and worker safety. This research has contributed to a body of knowledge that informed the new strategy. Research being funded under the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative will continue to demonstrate how heat affects people’s health and aid in the development of community, state, tribal, and national prevention, preparedness, and response policies and actions.
The strategy will guide coordination among federal agencies in implementing the goals. NIHHIS has set the strategy in motion by:
- Conducting heat safety awareness social media campaigns.
- Coordinating urban heat island campaigns.
- Developing heat governance resources.
- Establishing two new Centers of Excellence to work with local communities on collaborative heat monitoring and decision-making.
- Holding regional heat workshops and heat tabletop exercises.
- Releasing the HeatRisk tool and the Heat and Health Tracker.
The National Heat Strategy was launched August 14. To learn more about the interagency heat efforts, please visit heat.gov.
