NOAA, DWD, CDC, WMO, GFCS, 2015

Author(s): Hunter Jones, Sarah Giltz, Joy Shumake-Guillemot and Madeline West (Eds.)

Oppressive weather in the form of extreme heat (temperature and humidity) is a global problem. In the past several years, these extremes have touched communities around the globe, resulting in lost work hours, hospitalizations, and even death. Just this past summer (2014), extreme heat swept across Europe in July and the Middle East and Indian subcontinent in August, triggering health consequences, energy shortages, and even protests (Valentine, 2015). Meanwhile, climate projections indicate that such extremes are only likely to be more frequent and more intense in the future (Walsh et al. 2014; Figure 1). Unmitigated, the health consequences of extreme heat will grow over time.

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As a result of increased extreme heat predictions, cities, states, and nations are rising to the challenge of mitigating negative health outcomes. Following a deadly heatwave in 1995 that resulted in an estimated 739 deaths, Chicago invested heavily in understanding and addressing the challenge of extreme weather. Chicago is now considered a leader in the area of preparedness and response to extreme heat. Localities around the world are piloting and evaluating heat action plans and warning systems, and many have had functioning heat-health systems for several years. Each country, and in some cases state or city, approached this common problem in a slightly different way.

The workshop covered in this report, entitled Developing Climate Information Systems for Heat Health Early Warning, addressed a clear need for a platform to discuss and understand these approaches and to establish dialogue between not only the early adopters of mitigative actions, but also populations interested in becoming more active in the future.

The workshop was convened in Chicago, IL, in the summer of 2015 by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Germany’s Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), along with partners from Environment Canada and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) . This workshop report synthesizes the workshop discussion and outlines next steps for enhancing resilience to extreme heat amongst participants and new future partners.