White House Launches Website to Help People Deal With Heatwaves

The site, HEAT.gov, houses an almost overwhelming amount of information about extreme heat. Visual tools, like the Heat-Related Illness and Temperature map—which displays regional rates of first responder visits associated with heat-related illness—are aplenty (and scarily red). Other parts of the site share tips on staying safe when you must be outdoors. There’s a section on preparing for the next heatwave, including signing up for energy assistance programs and learning the differences between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Those who have lived in regions susceptible to earthquakes or hurricanes might even feel a twinge of deja vu when they get to the part about assembling emergency kits and sorting out family communication plans.

That’s because heatwaves are, despite their sneaky nature, a deadly and increasingly unavoidable natural hazard. Immediately upon launch on Tuesday, HEAT.gov warned that nearly one in every 10 Americans were experiencing extreme heat. This is expected to get worse, thanks to climate change. According to the site’s Climate Explorer tool, New York County’s average daily maximum temperature is expected to balloon from 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 70.2 between now and 2070, while Dallas County could go from 79.1 degrees to 84.3 in the same time.

While some might be used to higher temperatures, those so accustomed are more likely to be somewhat spoiled with the infrastructure to match. (Take Phoenix, Arizona, for example, where residences are legally required to have air conditioning.) Still, that doesn’t mean the heat isn’t deadly in those regions. Hundreds of people die from heat-related illness each year in counties with such infrastructure. Not only that, but temperatures are rising year over year in desert regions, not just in their more temperate counterparts. Everyone is getting a piece of the country’s hottest pie to date, like it or not.

HEAT.gov is said to be just one part of the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to address extreme heat. A release from earlier this month details a handful of executive actions including resilient infrastructure funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), offshore wind energy prioritization, various workplace safety measures, and home energy assistance to help families with cooling costs.

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