White House Announces Extreme Heat Data, Planning Resource

In a nod to not only the immediate heat waves sweltering the United States and other countries this summer but also to the new set of challenges brought by a warming planet and more erratic weather, the White House has released a new website devoted to heat.

Officials released the new site, heat.gov, the official information landing site for the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS). The new site is a collaboration by a multidisciplinary handful of agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Park Service (NPS) and more.

The site is intended to provide public officials with clear, science-based data to make decisions around how to plan for and mitigate extreme heat events. The portal includes GIS mapping data from Esri, real-time temperature data, forecasts and other tools to aid in decision-making.

“Heat.gov is an exciting new and accessible website designed to help everyone become engaged with their community, their state-level government and federal partners, to take actions that can reduce the deadly health impacts of extreme heat,” said White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy in a statement.