On July 26th, the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) launched a new portal, Heat.gov, to provide the public and community decision makers with clear, timely, and science-based information to understand and reduce the health risks of extreme heat. Heat.gov provides a one-stop hub on heat and health for the nation and is a priority of President Biden’s National Climate Task Force and its Interagency Working Group on Extreme Heat.
Heat-related illnesses and death are largely preventable with proper planning, monitoring, and education. City officials including the growing number of heat resilience officers, doctors, nurses, first responders, researchers, and the general public are increasingly requesting federal support to understand the complex and dangerous impacts of extreme heat. Heat.gov serves to meet this growing demand from multiple audiences for authoritative heat and health tools and information.
Heat.gov integrates maps, data, and information from across disciplines, from inside and outside of government, that will enable informed decisions by communities on a daily basis as well as allow planning weeks and months ahead. The site features heat forecasts from NOAA’s National Weather Service, the Climate and Health Outlook developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC’s Heat and Health Tracker, the NIHHIS Urban Heat Island Mapping program, as well as heat planning and preparing guides. Heat.gov also includes information on NIHHIS programs; events and news articles; heat and health program funding opportunities; educational information about heat; and information to help at-risk communities.
Heat.gov launched with a NOAA press release that included quotes from White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad. The launch also included a media advisory webinar with guest speakers including Deputy White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Director of the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Patrick Breysse, CPO’s NIHHIS Program Manager Hunter Jones, and Esri’s Dan Pisut. After remarks from leadership on the issue of heat and the importance of Heat.gov, Hunter Jones gave an overview of the portal to the media and the panelists answered questions from the media about the site.
Read the press release on NOAA.gov »
Media advisory webinar recording »
For more information, contact Morgan Zabow.
