HHS launches online tool to identify communities hit hardest by extreme heat
Tourists at Furnace Creek Visitor Center during a heat wave in Death Valley National Park in California, on July 16, 2023. The Department of Health and Human Services just launched an online tool to share data on extreme heat risks across the country. RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images
The heat and health index tool provides zip code level data to flag neighborhoods that are the most at risk of experiencing harmful health outcomes as a result of high temperatures.
As the American public gears up for a summer that meteorologists are predicting will be among the hottest on record, federal officials have rolled out a new interactive portal to provide granular data on extreme heat risks across the country.
The heat and health index tool, launched by the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, processes data on communities’ health and environmental characteristics to determine heat-related health risks by zip code.
The portal is hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates that approximately 1,220 people in the U.S. die as a result of extreme heat each year.
HHS said in a press release that the tool will help officials identify communities “most likely to experience negative health outcomes from heat, ensure that outreach and medical aid reach the people who need it most and help decision-makers prioritize community resilience investments.”
The portal creates a final “heat and health index ranking” of zip codes by assessing historic temperature data and statistics on heat-related emergencies within the past three years, as well as information on the health and environmental characteristics of neighborhoods.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement that the tool will help mitigate the impact of extreme temperatures by “giving advance understanding of the dangers before heat waves hit.”
“All across the country, communities are battling to keep people cool, safe and alive in the face of dangerous, record-setting heat, made worse by the climate crisis,” Becerra said. “Exposure to extreme temperatures can lead to serious illness and death and the risks for people who are pregnant and those with pre-existing conditions like asthma or diabetes are even greater.”
HHS said the heat and health index builds on other tools the department and its component agencies have created, including the CDC heat and health tracker. The new tool will also be linked with a website the Biden administration launched in July 2022 to provide the American public with resources, data and other tools on the dangers of extreme heat.