Heat Action Plans and Case Studies

The IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) has approved a total of CHF 499,930 for Heatwave Early Action Protocol (EAP) for Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. The approved amount consists of an immediate allocation of CHF 206,061 for readiness, CHF 44,599 for Pre-positioning stocks and CHF 249,271 automatically allocated to implement early actions once the defined triggers are met. Allocations are made from the Anticipatory Pillar of the DREF, under the DREF appeal code MDR00001. Unearmarked contributions to the DREF are encouraged to guarantee enough funding is available for the Early Action Protocols being developed.

Due to climate change, Malaysia is projected to experience 200 heat wave days per year by 2050 and a significant increase in floods and storms. This will impact the health and well-being of the population from heat-stress related illness, injury from floods and storms, impact mental health due to loss of property and life, increase allergies due to weather changes, increase vector and water-borne diseases and cause potential malnutrition due to food insecurity. 

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts. Extreme weather events lead to loss of human life and have devastating consequences on socio-economic outcomes. In India, most vulnerable communities do not have access to either information about the occurrence of these events, or the understanding of risk from current warnings. This lack of useful information inhibits pre-emptive and potentially life saving action.

Many laborers are confronted with occupational heat stress from physically demanding work in high environmental temperatures with inadequate protections. Heat stress has multiple well-established adverse health outcomes, including increased accidents, heart attacks, heat illness, stroke, and organ damage including kidney diseases. All are potentially fatal and associated with decreased productivity. Heat stress and its health effects harm workers, communities, employers, and health systems. Active intervention in a warming world is required. Chronic Kidney Disease of undetermined causes (CKDnT) is a fatal progressive loss of kidney function that has killed more than 40,000 people in Mesoamerica and Sri Lanka alone in the last 10 years. Treatment is out of reach for most ensuring an early death for those affected.

This case studies outlines Mahila Housing Trust’s scalable model of woman-led education programme on climate change and health-related risks in urban settlements. Their model uses communication methods to introduce the concept of climate change and build climate resilience among vulnerable communities in India.

Climate change scenarios for Rotterdam show multiple future challenges. With rising temperatures, heat stress due to the urban heat island effect is increasing. With rising sea levels, the influx of saltwater into the river delta around Rotterdam is increasing. Peak weather events will lead to challenges for water storage both in the city of Rotterdam and its surrounding areas close to the Rhine and Meuse rivers. Urban transformation and other adaptation measures to overcome these challenges might affect mosquito, rodent, and bird populations.

CHALLENGE

The health impacts of extreme heat are predictable and largely avoidable, provided that city authorities have access to timely and location-specific information. With the right data and tools, city authorities can identify local hot spots, optimize the allocation and management of cooling centres, ensure sufficient drinking water spots and cooling spaces and communicate the health-related risks of excessive heat. Citizens and visitors can plan their daily lives in the city safely knowing the risks, and can adapt their routines accordingly. The challenge then is to improve access to information so that city authorities can reduce heat-related illness and deaths.

APPROACH

EXTREMA Global148 is a portfolio of digital services based on open Earth observation data as well as climate and atmosphere models and local data, targeting cities and citizens with city-specific customizations. It was originally designed to lessen the impacts of heatwaves on public health, and to make cities more heat resilient. The core services of EXTREMA Global include a free, multilingual mobile app that uses data and services to provide the current heat risk at the location of the user and recommendations for health protection, including directions to the nearest cooling places and drinking water spots and public announcements from city authorities. The app supports multiple profiles, allowing users to check on family members in multiple locations. The city authorities access tools and alerts through a dashboard to help them manage their resources to reduce heat exposure. City authorities also have access to satellite-derived maps showing the distribution of surface temperature in order to identify hot spots and areas that need intervention, through for example, the planning, design and management of urban infrastructure. The smartphone app also has optional modules that allow for the integration of air quality data from Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) and provision of relevant health instructions. EXTREMA Global services are already being used in the municipalities of Athens, Milan, Paris, Rotterdam, Greater London (UK), and in Chicago, Tampa and Newark in the USA.

RESULT

Athens (Greece) was the first city in which the concept was adopted in 2016. City authorities worked to design the app to meet the city requirements, and have since included the app in the #CoolAthens campaign. They have also included the add-on to provide air quality data at the location of the user, and use high-resolution temperature distribution maps to guide planning. The combination of air quality and heat risk proved to be very useful in July 2021 when Athens experienced a severe heatwave that lasted 10 days and saw temperatures reach about 44 °C, with very poor air quality due to nearby wildfires sparked by the heat. The EXTREMA app suggests “cool routes” where users can walk safely around the city, for example, between tourist attractions, a feature much needed for tourists. In July 2023, during a heatwave that lasted 14 days, app requests by Athenians and visitors reached 10 000 hits. Furthermore, the app contributed drastically to strengthening communication between the departments of the municipality to exchange know-how and data. In Milan, hundreds of drinking water spots are mapped in the app, making use of the digital infrastructure to also decrease the use of plastic bottles. Publicity and dissemination by the city authorities play a critical role in the use and impact of the app, with peak usage dates coinciding with days in which the city promoted the app in the local press. In 2022, the app received 6 324 requests for service from Milan. Milan is now using digital services to calculate the safest and coolest routes for bicycles.

In Athens, the EXTREMA app supports six languages to help tourists find their nearest cooling space and the coolest route to their destination.

PARTNERS National Observatory of Athens, Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Global Urban Observation and Information (GUOI) initiative, ARTi Analytics B.V., Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS), Bloomberg Associates

CHALLENGE

Extreme temperatures have serious and direct effects on public health. In the summer of 2013–2014 Argentina experienced record heatwaves and preventable deaths. This motivated additional studies of the impact of extreme heat on health, with the aim of developing a health impact-based warning system. Two studies established the statistical relationship between the occurrence of extreme temperatures and the increase in mortality. The studies were carried out jointly by the Ministry of Health, the National Meteorological Service, the National University of Entre Ríos, the National University of La Matanza and the University of Buenos Aires. Mortality was analysed by sex, age and cause of death, and results indicated that mortality increased significantly in both extreme hot and cold temperatures. The mortality risk during heatwaves increased in 13 of the 18 provinces analysed.130 For extreme cold temperatures, risk of death significantly increased in the week following a cold day in 10 of the 21 cities analysed, while cold waves were associated with an increased risk of death in the following two weeks in 10 cities.131 Based on the evidence of extreme temperature episodes in Argentina driving increased negative health outcomes, an early warning system (EWS) for extreme temperatures was deemed necessary to reduce preventable deaths.

APPROACH

The objective of the EWS for extreme temperatures is to enable the population, the health system and civil protection organizations to take the appropriate prevention, mitigation and response measures at each alert level. Development of the EWS occurred in several phases. Firstly, an EWS for Heatwaves and Health was developed and tested in two cities.132 Subsequently, in 2017 and based on the results of a study,133 the alert thresholds were adapted. Finally, in 2021, the EWS began to cover the entire national territory (sub-divided into 168 fixed regions) and was renamed the EWS for Extreme Heat Temperatures.134 In the same way, the EWS for Extreme Cold Temperatures was created.135 The system issues alerts at different levels (yellow, orange and red). The alert thresholds were established based on the 90th percentile for heat (and the 10th percentile for extreme cold) of each city

RESULT

During the warm period from October 2021 to March 2022, 987 daily alerts were issued for extreme heat (615 yellow, 205 orange and 167 red). Likewise, during the EWS for Extreme Cold Temperatures test period, from 9 June to 20 September 2021, 239 daily alerts were issued for extreme cold (197 yellow, 37 orange and 5 red). The alerts were communicated to health and civil protection agencies at the national level, as well as to the general population through different media. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the system is planned. Under this system the weather alerts are issued by the Argentinian National Meteorological Service, and the Ministry of Health issues recommendations for health care.

LIMITATIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED

The Early Warning System for Extreme Temperatures (SAT-TE in Spanish) has climatic thresholds for which the significant increase in mortality was evaluated epidemiologically. Two studies established the statistical relationship between the occurrence of extreme temperatures and the increase in mortality. However, future studies could evaluate the temperature at which mortality increases significantly, both for extreme cold and extreme heat. The main actions carried out are preventive, with little development of those aimed at mitigation and response. There is still a long way to go to complete the system, including improving the criteria for issuing alerts so that they contemplate different scenarios, such as power cuts or water shortages, among others.

During the warm period from October 2021 to March 2022, 987 daily alerts were issued for extreme heat.

PARTNERS: Ministry of Health of Argentina

Myanmar’s climate is changing and climate variability already affects communities and socioeconomic sectors in the country. Some climate change impacts are already observable and there is broad scientific consensus that further change will occur. Even with significant global climate mitigation (activities and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions), economic sectors, local communities and natural ecosystems in Myanmar will be strongly affected by climate change as a result of the emissions already in the atmosphere. Adaptation is therefore necessary for reducing Myanmar‟s vulnerability to climate variability and change.

National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) serve as simplified, rapid and direct channels for Least Developed Countries to identify and communicate priority activities to address their urgent and immediate adaptation needs. NAPAs emerged from the multilateral discussions on adaptation measures within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)1,2.

Myanmar;s NAPA therefore specifies 32 priority activities (referred to as Priority Adaptation Projects) for effective climate change adaptation for eight main sectors/themes (i.e. four Project Options per sector/theme), namely: i) Agriculture; ii) Early Warning Systems; iii) Forest; iv) Public Health; v) Water Resources; vi) Coastal Zone; vii) Energy, and Industry; and viii) Biodiversity(Table 1).

The Climate Action Plan lays down strategies and targets to meet the pledge to reduce GHG emissions intensity by 36% by 2030 (compared to 2005), peak emissions around 2030, and ensure future resilience of Singapore.

The Climate Action Plan consists of two key documents. The first, ‘Take Action Today: For A Carbon-efficient Singapore’ lays down the key strategies that Singapore will need to take to reduce GHG emissions to fulfil the emissions reduction pledge it made in support of the Paris Agreement.

Mumbai city, home to over 12 million people and thriving on a diverse economy, is increasingly at risk of the impacts of climate change. Increasing temperatures, depleting natural green cover, routine bouts of extreme rainfall events resulting in severe flood conditions incur severe losses to the city’s economy and its people. Recent increase in tropical cyclones along the coast and future risks from sea level rise projected over the next 3 decades pose critical challenges to Mumbai’s future. In this context, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have led the process to drafting the first ever, Mumbai Climate Action Plan ( MCAP).

The MCAP envisions a city where its communities and citizens are safer, healthier, and thrive even in the context of a changing and uncertain climate. The MCAP is committed to a net zero and climate-resilient Mumbai by 2050. This means ensuring just transitions – towards net zero pathways; big investments – towards inclusive and transformative climate solutions; and coordinated and robust governance – to ensure a targets-based approach. BMC acknowledges that the climate crisis is already affecting us all, although in varying ways, and the time for action is now to secure a better future for all by 2050.

Durante los meses de verano del año 2003 se produjeron temperaturas muy elevadas en toda
Europa que provocaron un importante aumento de la morbilidad y, como posteriormente se ha
comprobado, de la mortalidad por causas en las que el factor de exceso de temperatura fue un
desencadenante. A fin de evitar episodios como los ocurridos durante ese verano, en el año 2004
el Ministerio de Sanidad puso en marcha el Plan Nacional de Actuaciones Preventivas de los
Efectos de los Excesos de Temperaturas Sobre la Salud. Desde entonces, el Plan se activa cada
verano durante los meses de junio a septiembre.
La aplicación del Plan está cumpliendo su principal objetivo: la prevención de daños a la salud
provocados por el exceso de temperatura. Desde un enfoque sanitario, la exposición a
temperaturas excesivas afecta especialmente a los menores, a las personas mayores y a las
personas con patologías crónicas de base. Desde un punto de vista social, la marginación, el
aislamiento, la dependencia, la discapacidad, las condiciones de habitabilidad de las personas
con menos recursos, añaden factores de riesgo que hacen aún más vulnerables a colectivos que,
precisamente por sus condiciones socio-económicas, deberían estar más apoyados.
El Plan establece las medidas para reducir los efectos asociados a las temperaturas excesivas y
para coordinar las instituciones de la Administración del Estado implicadas. Así mismo propone
acciones que puedan ser realizadas por las Comunidades Autónomas y la Administración Local.
El Plan establece las acciones previstas para la prevención y control, estructuradas en varios
niveles de actuación según el nivel de riesgo alcanzado como consecuencia del incremento de las
temperaturas.

La Estrategia y el Programa contemplan ocho ejes estratégicos y 23 líneas de acción: 1) Movilidad integrada y sustentable, 2) Ciudad solar, 3) Basura cero, 4) Manejo sustentable del agua y rescate de ríos y cuerpos de agua, 5) Revegetación del campo y la ciudad, 6) Capacidad adaptativa y resiliencia urbana, 7) Calidad del aire, y 8) Cultura climática.

Este documento fornece subsídios para a elaboração do Plano de Adaptação da CRJ, peloqual de vem ser estabelecidos caminhos para a adaptação que tenham, por objetivo, assegurar a proteção do patrimônio natural e construído e preservar as relações econômicas e socioculturais face às mudanças do clima, em prol da atual e futuras gerações.

Estratégia de Adaptação está fundamentada em seis Eixos Estratégicos:
A. Fortalecer a capacidade institucional e humana;
B. Garantir a conservação e integridade dos ecossistemas e o uso racional e sustentável dos recursos naturais;
C. Fomentar a promoção da saúde da população
frente às mudanças climáticas;
D. Conduzir a ocupação e uso do território de forma a promover a qualidade urbano-ambiental;
E. Garantir a mobilidade urbana eficiente e
sustentável; e
F. Garantir o funcionamento das Infraestruturas
Estratégicas sob condições climáticas adversas.

Actions in the plan are organized into four tracks –

(A) Build Public Awareness and Notification;

(B) Strengthen Community Services and Response;

(C) Increase Resilience of Our Built Environment; and

(D) Utilize Nature-Based Solutions.

These tracks include established and recommended state actions to address extreme heat. The Administration is committed to continued scoping and exploration of these actions. Areas of near-term focus include:

• Implement a statewide public health monitoring system to identify heat illness events early, monitor trends, and track illnesses to intervene and prevent further harm.
• Accelerate readiness and protection of communities most impacted by extreme heat, including through cooling schools and homes, supporting
  community resilience centers, and expanding nature-based solutions.
• Protect vulnerable populations through codes, standards, and regulations.
• Expand economic opportunity and build a climate smart workforce that can operate under and address extreme heat.
• Increase public awareness to reduce risks posed by extreme heat.
• Protect natural and working lands, ecosystems, and biodiversity from the impacts of extreme heat.

Guide to extreme heat planning in South Africa for the human health sector: A package of practical, feasible, and low-cost interventions at the individual and community level can assist people to adapt to high temperatures. The health sector is the lead agency on the Heat Health Action Plan, responsible for coordinating across other departments and stakeholders, including those outside of government. The Heat Health Information Plan needs to deliver useful, timely, accessible, consistent and trustworthy information to their target audience, with a focus on vulnerable populations.

This document lays out an action plan for managing heatwaves in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, which has been facing the brunt of climate change hazards because of its unique topography. Being home to extreme cold and hot weather, significant losses have been incurred which can be linked to climate-change-related disasters i.e. floods, glacial melting, drought, and heat waves.

The plan includes:

• situation analysis
• heat index
• background to heat waves in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• heatwave early warning & coordination
• heat wave declaration
• heat wave surveillance & coordination
• roles and responsibilities

The National Action Plan on Heat Related lllnesses, developed with inputs from various governmental and non-governmental experts, is intended to be used by government and private health care facilities, health departments, and policymakers tasked with strengthening health facilities and emergency response. This document provides guidance to manage severe heat-related illnesses and to report them under National Heat Related
Illness surveillance.

Stuttgart’s location in a valley basin, its mild climate, low wind speeds, industrial activity and high volume of traffic has made it susceptible to poor air quality. Development on the valley slopes has prevented air from moving through the city, which worsens the air quality and contributes to the urban heat island effect. A Climate Atlas was developed for the Stuttgart region, presenting the distribution of temperature and cold air flows according to the city’s topography and land use. Based on this information, a number of planning and zoning regulations are recommended that also aim to preserve and increase open space in densely built-up areas.

In inner city Berlin, plans for the development of new buildings are subjected to the Berlin Landscape Programme, which includes a regulation requiring a proportion of the area to be left as green space: the Biotope Area Factor (BAF) or BFF (Biotop Flächenfaktor). All potential green areas, such as courtyards, roofs and walls are included in the BAF. The regulation is a part of a larger set of documents relating to landscape planning and design as well as species protection. It responds to the need to encourage more green space in densely built-up urban areas.

Climate change is expected to increase and intensify heatwaves and water-related extremes; two impacts that are particularly relevant for the urban context. By encouraging the introduction of more green space, the BAF is an important mechanism to reduce local climate change vulnerability as its measures help to lower the temperatures and improve the runoff management. The implementation of the BAF started in 1994 and is still on-going. A considerable number of new built areas in the inner city centre have implemented this regulation, translating it into green areas.

Evidence that elevated temperatures can lead to increased mortality and morbidity is well documented, with population vulnerability being location specific. The elderly are particular vulnerable to extreme heat stress. Being part of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal has a mild Mediterranean climate. Climate change projections indicate that the number of days with extreme heat in Portugal will increase with urban areas being more sensitive. If future populations become more urbanized and the number of elderly continues to increase, the issue of heat-related mortality will likely become more severe.

During the 2003 heatwave in Europe, Portugal was one of the few countries that already had an early warning system in place: but only for Lisbon, the capital city. Following the 2003 heatwave, the Portuguese Heatwave Contingency Plan was established and has been in operation every year from May to September. This is a national plan covering the whole continental Portugal. The aim of the current Portuguese Heatwave Contingency Plan is to prevent the adverse health effects of heat stress on the population during periods of elevated temperatures. Daily alerts are key factors to the successful implementation of this plan; they indicate what protection measures must be carried out to protect the population during periods of elevated temperatures.

Evidence that increasing temperatures leads to increased mortality and morbidity is well documented, with population vulnerability being location specific. Especially the 2003 heat wave in Europe raised the awareness of negative impacts of heat stress on human health in Austria. Increased incidence of heat waves leads to an increase in heat stress, especially in urban areas; the intensification of the heat-island effect is to be expected. Following the 2003 heat wave, different Austrian provinces like Styria (2011) and Carinthia (2013) developed heat protection plans, based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation, which recommended to develop strategies, plans and packages of measures in order to protect citizens from heat stress.

These plans provide an information basis for public health services. Based on the experience from the two provinces, an Austrian heat protection plan, led by the Ministry of Health and Woman´s Affairs with involvement of several relevant actors on the national and provincial level was prepared and put in action in 2017. The plan sets out the connection between climate change and health as well as the meteorological baseline information for heat warnings, which is provided by the National Met Service (ZAMG). The information and warnings are directed to the citizen via a sound network of institutions and actors in the health field.

Demographic change and climate change together place great challenges on the society. The life expectancy of the population in Germany rises and so does the share of older people. Besides chronic patients and children, the elderly are especially affected by the effects of the climate change. At the same time more and more people live in single person households (increase from 14.56 million in 2004 to 16.83 million in 2016 in Germany), which can influence their social isolation. How can we reach these people in order to prevent negative impacts during heatwaves? This is where the heat hotline parasol from the city of Kassel (around 200.000 inhabitants) in Germany comes into play. The heat hotline parasol is a free of charge hotline that calls registered citizens and provides information on heat-warnings from the German Weather Service and suggest measures how to best deal with and adapt to higher temperatures and heat. With this hotline special support is provided to citizens, especially elderly and their families, to deal with heat in the urban area of the city of Kassel. The Elderly Committee of the City of Kassel and the Health Department of the Kassel region cooperates in the heat hotline parasol.

High temperatures and heatwaves in the summer pose increasing risks to people living in Slovakian cities. In particular older people and children, those living on top floors in poorly insulated buildings, and those relying on facilities such as nurseries, schools or care homes are prone to heat stress. The Carpathian Development Institute, in collaboration with local authorities in Trnava and Košice, carried out an assessment of vulnerability to high temperatures and heatwaves in residential environment, taking into account the social aspects. Factors such as presence of older people, children and location of facilities serving these vulnerable groups were considered.

Based on the results of the assessment, adaptation strategies are being implemented in both Trnava and Košice, including measures such as thickening of tree stands in parks, building and restoration of water elements (blue infrastructure) and fountains in most vulnerable places, actions aiming at changing citizen behavior during heatwaves, etc., Moreover, a neglected public open space in a vulnerable area in Trnava was redesigned to provide shading through planting of trees and other vegetation.

In the last century, heatwaves in Sweden occurred once every 20 years (the last being in 1975). Since the start of the new millennium, four heatwaves (2003, 2007, 2010 and 2018) have been already experienced. The frequency of these events is expected to further increase due to climate change; they will occur once every three to five years towards the end of the century. Heatwaves are already leading to increased mortality. Botkyrka is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, not far from the capital with a population of 91.925 inhabitants. In 2010, the municipality experienced prolonged high temperatures, which led among other things to problems in elderly, retirement and nursing homes. The residents were severely hit by the heat and the staff had problems to look after them well enough.

Extensive efforts, partly in the frame of a project held within the Climatools program, have been made in the municipality of Botkyrka to reduce the health risk of heatwaves. Staff of elderly, retirement and nursing homes has acquired knowledge on heatwaves risk and on checklists that must be followed in case of heatwave warnings. If necessary, additional staff can be called and activated to ensure further support to safe care. Therefore, during the 2018 heatwave, the municipality was far better prepared and equipped than in previous situations. Botkyrka is also supporting actions aiming to improve indoor thermal comfort and to create “cool-spots” in various areas of the city.

This study analysed the heat-related impact on mortality and morbidity for a rural population in Senegal. To evaluate the effect of the duration of heat exposure, we measured heat by the average apparent temperature (with effect of humidity) in a period preceding the event (medical visit, death) ranging from one, five, and ten to thirty days. We investigated the temperature-mortality or -morbidity relationship by vulnerable groups (children and elderly people) and by temperature type (daily minimum, maximum and average). Finally, we used three types of models: GLM, GAM and ARIMAX.

We found that, between 1984 and 2014, high heat resulted in an excess of mortality and medical diagnosed morbidity, especially among children and elderly people.

The CAPS project aimed to reimagine Sydney’s bus shelters as Climate Adapted People Shelters through an open innovation design competition.

This document, Karachi Heatwave Management Plan, outlines what should happen before, during and after periods of extreme heat in Karachi. It sets out strategies that government and non-government agencies will adopt to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths in Karachi and capacitate the public, particularly the most vulnerable residents, to take protective action. The Plan describes actions of implementation partners to ensure (1) information on weather conditions and heat health is timely and specific, (2) organizations have the capacity to respond according to their roles, and (3) strategies and actions enabling increase in effectiveness over time. In June 2015 Karachi City experienced a severe heatwave that caused over 1,200 deaths and over 50,000 cases of heat illness. The heatwave caught all levels of government and first responders off-guard, highlighting the need for inter-agency coordination, clarity in roles, and a well-publicized trigger to activate a planned response. To address this need and to prevent health impacts from future heatwaves as climate change intensifies, the Commissioner Office Karachi requested support from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) to develop a heatwave management plan. Karachi’s first Heatwave Management Plan is the result of a technical assistance project delivered by national and international experts between October 2016 and May 2017, working closely with the Commissioner Office and other stakeholders. The Plan will be subject to an annual performance review and updated versions will be available to implementation partners accordingly.

South Sudan is at risk from the impact of climate change. This paper reviews the climate change issues faced by South Sudan, and the strategy as outlined to the United Nations. The author argues that the policy overlooks a key potential cause of future morbidity and mortality: increased ambient temperatures, particularly in urban centres due to the urban heat island effect.  The capital is especially susceptible to heat-related mortality as it faces a ‘triple threat’: rapidly rising temperatures, an at-risk population profile, and inadequate planning for the pressures of urbanisation. Four low-cost, evidence-based recommendations are given to mitigate the impact of heatwaves on human health, and it is concluded that South Sudan has great potential to become a regional leader in heat resilience.

Depuis 2009, l’Etat de Vaud dispose d’un plan canicule cantonal. Il vise à protéger la santé de la population des effets des vagues de chaleur, à limiter la surcharge du système sanitaire et à coordonner les différents acteurs appelés à intervenir dans ce type de situation. Ainsi, l’Etat définit des mesures de prévention collectives et individuelles et les transmet à la population ainsi qu’aux collectivités publiques et privées. Il prend en compte les situations sanitaire et météorologique ainsi que les prévisions, coordonne les acteurs (partenaires du secteur socio-sanitaire) et prend les décisions nécessaires pour prévenir ou atténuer les atteintes à la santé dues à la canicule.

Suite à une mise en garde de la médecin cantonale, la Ville de Genève active dès samedi 8 août 2020 son Plan canicule en faveur des aîné-e-s et des personnes sans-abri. Un suivi régulier de celles et ceux qui se sont inscrit-e-s auprès du Service social est assuré. Cette année, ce dispositif est particulièrement important compte tenu du contexte sanitaire encore marqué par le COVID-19.

—–

Following a warning from the cantonal doctor, the City of Geneva is activating its heatwave plan for the elderly and homeless from Saturday August 8, 2020. Regular follow-up of those who have registered with the Social Service is ensured. This year, the plan is particularly important given the health context still marked by COVID-19.

This strategy has been prepared to increase awareness and facilitate a broader and more coordinated response to the challenges of urban heat in Western Sydney.

Las islas de calor o islas térmicas se refieren al patrón térmico que se encuentra en sitios altamente urbanizados en el centro o en la periferia de las ciudades. Son generadas por la pérdida de cobertura vegetal la cual es substituida por superficies impermeables como las carreteras de asfalto, edificios de concreto, ladrillo y otros materiales de construcción, dando como resultado el cambio en el balance hídrico y radiativo superficial, generando, por lo tanto, aumentos en la temperatura de las áreas urbanizadas. La identificación de estas islas térmicas permite desarrollar medidas de adaptación en sitios puntuales de la ciudad. Con el objetivo de conocer el comportamiento de las islas de calor en el Cantón de Curridabat se realizó un análisis de las temperaturas de los últimos cuatro años obtenidas de imágenes satelitales LandSat 8. Los resultados obtenidos reflejan un patrón de calentamiento diferenciado dependiendo del nivel de urbanización y la presencia de vegetación. Así mismo, se señala la relación de estas islas de calor con diferentes grupos vulnerables de la población y la necesidad de tomar medidas considerando la situación actual y futura con los cambios probables del clima. Análisis relacionados con la vegetación remanente en el cantón muestran la importancia de tomar acciones sobre parches de bosques en propiedades privadas y la atención al espacio verde público por habitante que muestra una situación de desigualdad dependiendo del distrito en que se ubique. Finalmente se propone la necesidad de desarrollar una definición para bosque urbano, y de acciones para atender principalmente todo lo relacionado a la adaptación al cambio climático basada en ecosistemas en la ciudad.

Heat has the potential to become one of the most significant public health impacts of climate change in the coming decades. Increases in temperature have been linked to both increasing mortality and morbidity. Cities have been recognized as areas of particular vulnerability to heat’s impacts on health, and marginalized groups, such as the poor, appear to have higher heat-related morbidity and mortality. Little research has examined the heat vulnerability of urban informal settlements residents in Africa, even though surface temperatures across Africa are projected to increase at a rate faster than the global average.

This paper addresses this knowledge gap through a mixed-methods analysis of the heat-health vulnerability of informal settlement residents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The heat exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of informal settlement residents were assessed through a combination of climate analyses, semi-structured interviews with local government actors and informal settlement residents, unstructured interviews with health sector respondents, a health impacts literature review, and a stakeholder engagement workshop.

The results suggest that increasing temperatures due to climate change will likely be a significant risk to human health in Dar es Salaam, even though the city does not reach extreme temperature conditions, because informal settlement residents have high exposure, high sensitivity and low adaptive capacity to heat, and because the heat-health relationship is currently an under-prioritized policy issue. While numerous urban planning approaches can play a key role in increasing the resilience of citizens to heat, Dar es Salaam’s past and current growth and development patterns greatly complicate the implementation and enforcement of such approaches. For African cities, the findings highlight an urgent need for more research on the vulnerability and resilience of residents to heat-health impacts, because many African cities are likely to present similar characteristics to those in Dar es Salaam that increase resident’s vulnerability.

La ciudad de La Plata y el Gran La Plata presentan una notoria vulnerabilidad ante eventos hidrometeorológicos severos, que se ve reflejada en el impacto que producen los mismos en la calidad de vida de sus habitantes, daños a bienes espacios públicos y privados. Para una adecuada Gestión Integral del Riesgo de Desastres en el Partido de La Plata, es necesario y prioritario establecer lineamientos para la Gestión de Emergencias, ya sean estas de origen Natural o Tecnológico. Este Plan General de Gestión de Emergencias -establecido a principios de 2014- tiene los siguientes objetivos:

Objetivo General:

• Reconocer las amenazas de origen natural como las provocadas por la actividad de los seres humanos (tecnológicas).

Objetivos Específicos:

• Identificar los actores y sectores involucrados en la gestión de emergencias.
• Establecer roles y funciones para la gestión de emergencias.
• Profundizar las estrategias de coordinación entre los organismos municipales, provinciales y nacionales involucrados en acciones de manejo de crisis (advertencia/alarma y respuesta) y rehabilitación ante un evento adverso.
• Promover actividades de prevención y preparación comunitaria.
• Indicar a la población las acciones a tomar Un Plan de Contingencia es un conjunto de procedimientos específicos que presentan una estructura estratégica y operativa contribuyentes a controlar una situación de emergencia y minimizar sus consecuencias negativas.

In advance of a heatwave affecting Hanoi from 18-21 July 2019, Red Cross cooling centres and other early actions were tested in an attempt reduce the occurrence of heat-related symptoms in vulnerable populations.

The Arizona Extreme Weather and Public Health Program’s primary climate-sensitive hazard topics include extreme heat, wildfires, air quality, drought, flooding, extreme cold, and vector-borne diseases. Extreme heat is a major concern to Arizona and a large focus of their work due to the frequency and severity of extreme heat events. A large portion of the state’s population is frequently exposed to outside temperatures above 100 degrees from May through September. Arizona experienced about 1,200 heat caused deaths during 2007–2017. In addition to extreme heat, the arid climate leads to other hazards such as flooding during monsoon season and more wildfires due to increased drought and high temperatures.


The Arizona Extreme Weather and Public Health Program facilitates the development and sharing of local knowledge of climate and health effects and the implementation of public health interventions for climate-related hazards affecting the state’s residents and visitors. Partnerships have led to several projects on extreme heat, such as heat alerts sent to schools and public and healthcare facilities that provide steps for heat safety. Additionally, local projects have assessed and improved cooling center networks, which help provide a cool space to get out of the heat during the summer. The program has created and distributed heat safety toolkits for various specific at-risk populations, including outdoor workers, older adults, and school children. The program and local partners have also increased their capacity to perform heat illness surveillance activities and coordinated a state heat preparedness workgroup.


In addition to adapting to the challenges of heat, other work has focused on understanding climate impacts on vector-borne diseases and the fungal disease called Valley fever. The program has also assisted in developing public health emergency response plans for wildfires and flooding. This work benefits various populations such as the homeless, elderly, children, local officials, and residents of low income and minority neighborhoods.

(National Plan for the prevention of the effects of heatwaves on health)

Working with Cofepris, the Ministry of Health, and the CEC, Sonora’s regional health authority (Comisión Estatal de Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios del Estado de Sonora—Coesprisson) established several objectives with the goal of creating a real-time SyS system for the city of Hermosillo in a 2016 pilot SyS project that would enable timely identification of health impacts due to extreme temperature and evidence-based policy development to reduce mortality and morbidity rates.

What meteorological factors are going to change? How much will they change? Will there be spatial variation? These are foundational issues for public health agencies in preparing for the impacts of climate change. In the wake of the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health agencies in the United States are using forecasted meteorological data to monitor health vulnerabilities across populations and places resulting from climate change.

Case study of the development of North Macedonia’s National Heat-Health Action Plan, which has been developed within the National Strategy for Adaptation for the health sector to implement adaptation measures and prevent health consequences associated with extreme heat due to climate change.

Following a deadly heat wave in May 2010, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) realized that coordinated action was needed to protect its residents from extreme heat and to become more climate-resilient

In 2012, consistent with Alberta’s climate change adaption framework, Alberta Health, the Provincial Government Department of Health, initiated a high-level vulnerability assessment that led to the development of a Heat Warning and Information System (HWIS) involving collaboration between several agencies with expertise outside of public health.

As part of a climate change risk assessment, Public Health England took the initiative to analyse the impact of cold winters and warm summers on the number of ambulance call-outs and ambulance response times in London. This study is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. Initial findings show that there is a clear relationship between air temperature and emergency ambulance calls.

Heatwaves kill more people than any other natural hazard in Australia. Current literature on managing health risks of heatwaves highlights the importance of implementing urban planning measures, and engaging with vulnerable groups on a local level to better understand perceptions of risk and tailor health protection measures. This paper reviews arrangements to reduce heatwave health risks in South East Queensland in response to these themes. A literature search and document analysis, stakeholder interviews, and multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral workshops revealed that although heatwave management is not always considered by local government and disaster management stakeholders, many urban planning measures to minimize urban heat have been pursued. However, greater information from vulnerable groups is still needed to better inform heatwave management measures.

Federal, state, and local agencies are working to provide more advanced warnings and services to help people better prepare for—and respond to—extreme heat events

Close collaboration between SCHSA and HKO highlights the importance of partnership and stakeholder engagement in improving the delivery and communication of useful weather and climate information to the health sector and promoting public awareness on the care of elderly people

The SUPREME system, developed by the INSPQ in 2010 together with a users committee, provides access to indicators that relate exposure to hazards (temperatures, urban heat islands, etc.), socioeconomic characteristics of neighbourhoods (population density, deprivation index, etc.), health problems (deaths, emergency room admissions, etc.), and follow-up during and after an intervention by field teams. Post-event reports are produced regionally and aggregated annually.

The HHWS was developed to reduce the heat related mortality. The HHWS is in operation since 2005 and preliminary studies indicate a reduction in the heat related mortality ever since.

This study provided a pilot assessment of vulnerability to heat exposure in a rural context during the peak summer months of 2016, with a focus on indoor and outdoor temperatures.

Citizen-scientists took to the streets on specially equipped bikes and cars to find out where it’s hottest—and where residents might be most vulnerable to extreme urban heat.

The City of Tatabánya has an approved comprehensive adaptation strategy, the Local Climate Change Action Plan, that is in its implementation stage. This Plan is based upon a comprehensive approach taking into consideration both mitigation and adaptation, incorporating climate considerations into decision-making, and including adaptation concerns in municipal processes. At this time, three measures have been implemented: (1) a local heat alert system; (2) the Smart Sun Educational Programme; and (3) building capacity of the fire brigade.

This case study provides an overview of the active heat health collaborations, projects and research ongoing in Hong Kong and presented during the First Global Forum on Heat and Health.

Hong Kong faces unique challenges from environmental hazards, such as climate change and variability, due to its densely populated and almost entirely urbanized living environment. An increased vulnerability to the urban heat island effect means that its inhabitants are more susceptible to the harmful, and sometimes deadly, health effects of extreme heat. This case study exemplifies how a multidisciplinary partners and agencies are collaborating to protect the most vulnerable communities.

This report looks at how the local community of Ahmedabad in Western India is preparing for the increasingly extreme heat of the city.

Heat waves bring some level of discomfort to nearly everyone. When excessive heat catches vulnerable populations off guard, though, discomfort can advance to illness and even death. Learn about strategies taken in Minnesota that help protect people in both rural and urban settings.

In the January 2009 heatwave, a prototype heatwave alert system had just been introduced, based on research identifying a threshold temperature above which excess mortality occurred in Melbourne, Australia. By the time of the January 2014 heat wave, the heat alert system had been considerably refined, based on further scientific work (2–4) and intense interactions between climate scientists and public health authorities. The excess mortality associated with the 2014 heat wave was substantially lower than in 2009, even though the 2014 heat wave lasted longer.

Planning with extreme weather thresholds catalyzes a $400,000 green infrastructure investment in a historically underserved neighborhood in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

In order to reduce the vulnerability of elderly people to heat waves in Austria, a new communication approach was developed and tested as part of the CcTalK! Project.

Responding to growing awareness of climate change impacts, the State of Colorado commissioned two of its universities to complete an initial study of the state’s vulnerabilities.

Cincinnati created a dedicated funding stream for its urban forestry program in 1981 that has enabled the city to maintain
a high percentage of its tree canopy. Heat mitigation is a key reason tree canopy is a priority. Although Cincinnati has a temperate climate and harsh, cold winters, the urban heat island effect can make the city up to 17°F hotter than nearby
rural areas during the summer.

Cool Neighborhoods NYC is a strategy developed by the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency to provide and target additional funding and to coordinate multiple extreme heat mitigation and adaptation projects. The objective of Cool Neighborhoods NYC is to “help keep New Yorkers safe during hot weather, mitigate urban heat island effect drivers and protect against the worst impacts of rising temperatures from climate change.”

Los Angeles is the first U.S. city to set a citywide temperature reduction goal, and switching to cool surfaces is a key strategy for achieving that goal. Los Angeles’s goal is to reduce the urban heat island effect by 1.7°F by 2025 and average temperature 3°F by 2035, but the city is 40 percent covered by pavement. Los Angeles’s reflective paving program, which targets both rooftops and public streets, complements other UHI reduction programs including a Million Trees initiative and integrated planning with the Department of Health.

The City of Long Beach, California, sees signs of climate change on land and in the ocean. After compiling the City’s official climate assessment report, local stakeholders also produced a more accessible and user-friendly summary version and shared it broadly to stimulate informed discussion and decision making across the city.

This AdaptNY case study of the Chicago heat wave of 1995 looks at how the urban heat island effect is exacerbated by socio-economic factors and poor city planning.

Residents of the Carolinas are familiar with hot summers, but in some areas excessive heat events bring a higher risk for heat-related illness—and even death. A new tool can help local communities get ahead of heat events so they can reduce risk for their residents.

With the goal to support the development of population heat resiliency and the capacity to withstand the effects of climate change, Michigan’s MDHHS and the CEC partnered to improve the MSSS to include a HRI-specific syndrome.

This issue brief highlights the progress at the city, state and national level in India in 2019 to improve climate resilience to extreme heat, and captures key elements of heat action plans.

Drawing lessons from the ground-breaking 2013 Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan,3 city, state, and national level authorities are ramping up to implement extreme heat warning systems and preparedness plans. In 2020, the national government is working with 23 states and over 100 cities and districts to develop and implement heat action plans across India.

In Spain, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has been successful in using weather prediction models to forecast short- and medium-range extreme temperatures, and an early warning system (Meteolerta) has been implemented in cooperation with European EUMETNET member countries (MeteoAlarm).

Toronto was the first city in North America to require and govern the construction of green roofs on new development. The Green Roof Bylaw (which includes a Green Roof Construction Standard) and the parallel Eco-Roof Incentive Program are responsible for more than 1.2 million square feet of new green space, an estimated reduction in citywide temperature, and widespread promotion of cool roofs.

This project, which is part of a broader WHO/UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded project, developed and implemented a heatwave early warning system to reduce the health risks and to increase the capacity of health systems and community residents to prepare for and cope with periods of extreme temperatures. The project was piloted in four cities: Harbin, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Chongqing, located in different climate zones within China.