New tools from NOAA and CDC show people their risk from heat as another hot summer looms
Federal officials on Monday unveiled a set of tools aimed at helping protect people in the United States from the dangers of extreme heat.
The resources, developed jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include new color-coded heat forecasts and a public dashboard showing local heat risks and air quality levels. New guidelines were also released for clinicians, instructing them on how to educate patients about coping with heat waves and the health impacts of extreme heat.
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Among the new tools is an experimental system from NOAA called “HeatRisk,” which provides a seven-day heat forecast for locations across the contiguous U.S. A numerical and color-coded scale shows users the potential dangers of heat and humidity in their area.
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On NOAA's HeatRisk tool, the scale ranges from 0 or green, meaning little or no risk from expected heat, to 4 or magenta, which indicates extreme and/or long-duration heat-related impacts.
The risk levels account for the projected high and low temperatures, and factor in the cumulative impacts of heat over daytime and nighttime conditions, according to NOAA. The outlooks are designed to be personalized by location, since a 100-degree Fahrenheit day in Miami will feel different from a 100-degree day in Phoenix, for example.
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