Heat risks are borne out of a combination of contextual factors (e.g., physical geography, planning efforts, political priorities, etc.) and the creation of vulnerability through exposure to the heat hazard (e.g., exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, etc.). These heat-specific, contextual risks provide insight for formulating tailored strategies and technical guidance for devising heat-mitigation interventions that align with regional needs and climatic conditions.

Thus, heat action planning systematically and scientifically organizes short-, medium-, and long-term heat interventions within a spectrum of context-specific, socially, and fiscally responsive options. Integrating existing planning tools and risk assessment frameworks, similar to the broader-scale natural hazard mitigation planning process, offers a timely and effective approach to developing regionally tailored heat action plans.

For heat action planning to succeed nationwide, multiple agencies and offices within the federal government need to 1) support state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments with timely information and tools that identify specific guidelines, thresholds, objectives, and financial support for advancing interventions for extreme heat adaptation and 2) include extreme heat within their planning processes. Since all state and local public agencies are already involved in a wide variety of planning processes—many of which are requirements to receive federal investments—the focus on heat offers opportunities to integrate several currently disparate efforts into a comprehensive activity aimed at safeguarding the public’s health and infrastructure.