Hotter Times #16: Heat Preparedness: How Early Warnings Make a Difference
Exploring the impact of timely alerts on heat risk prevention
Researchers, practitioners, community advocates, and government officials convened at the 3rd annual National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) National Meeting to discuss the risks of extreme heat to infrastructure, physical health, mental health, animal welfare, infectious disease, and even tree health. Rising temperatures and extreme heat are affecting all areas of life. The National Meeting gave a glimpse of what we can expect in the near future.
All aspects of infrastructure are susceptible to extreme risk. Back in 2021, we witnessed how extreme heat can bend railroad tracks and melt asphalt. It can also cause power lines to sag and touch vegetation. That vegetation is more flammable in high temperatures. Even airplanes struggle to take off in hotter times, meaning some runways will be too short in the future.
It’s not just summertime heat that can cause problems. Rising winter temperatures puts more places right in the middle of the freeze-thaw boundary. The constant flowing and freezing of water, while good for us ice climbers, is bad for concrete. Freezing water expands cracks, stressing the material. Cracks are bad news for dams.
Both physical and mental health are impacted by extreme heat. People who spend time outside are impacted by rising temperatures. This applies both to people who work outdoors and also people who play outdoors. Marathons are being cancelled just before or even during the race due to high heat. Places that aren’t adapting are witnessing more hospitalizations during races. For example, the Boston marathon earlier this week saw 126 runners transported to hospitals and 9% of runners receiving some form of medical treatment.
Even those not spending time outdoors can be harmed by extreme heat. A major factor in heat illness is nighttime temperatures. Our bodies recover from heat stress at night, when temperatures drop. But if they don’t, it compounds the stress on the body. One area where this appears is pregnancy. Women who live in hot places without A/C have more premature births than elsewhere, according to Ashley Ward, at Duke University.
Unsurprisingly, mental health also suffers during high heat. Higher temperatures lead to more conflicts not just at the interpersonal level but also at the country level. According to Dr. Tegan Blaine, Director, Climate, Environment & Conflict at United States Institute for Peace, a 1% increase in temperature leads to a 4.5% increase in civil war in the same year!
It isn’t just humans that become more aggressive with hotter temperatures. Studies have shown that dogs are 11% more likely to bite people when it’s hotter. Even fish get more aggressive when subjected to hotter water.
Early warning systems (EWS) are a critical tool in alerting people to the risks of extreme heat. Few people understand how broadly heat can impact our lives. An EWS ensures people get the information they need to prevent heat-related hazards, such as a derailed train, pre-term births, and conflict.
The value of heat-health early warning systems is in its granularity. Being able to tailor messages to people from different backgrounds, occupations, and recreational lifestyle is key to delivering value to community members. Hyperlocal messaging requires hyperlocal weather forecasts. This is why we are so excited about the Climate Adaptation Data Platform, since it enables health departments to identify risks at unprecedented granularity and communicate interventions at the same level.
Hotter Times is published by Zato Novo. We are building the Climate Adaptation Data Platform, an open source sensor and data infrastructure to accelerate climate action and digital development projects. Quickly build applications for food security and public health that rely on hyperlocal weather forecasts. Get in touch with Brian at rowe@zatonovo.com to learn more.
Hi Kris, thanks for the kind words (and for reading). What sort of petition are you thinking of?
Thank you Brian! Hopefully, the various effects of extreme heat that you describe will connect for/awaken many people. I wonder if, at the end of your posts, it would make greater connection for readers if there were a link to a petition that could be signed; a quick and simple way to participate/engage.