Leveraging Data to Drive Effective Heat Protection Policies

There is a growing need to fill data gaps on how heat impacts health to ensure the effective design and implementation of public policies at the local and state levels, as well as private policies within organizations and systems (e.g., health care). Data-informed heat policy is essential to protect communities from harmful heat exposure and adverse health outcomes. Timely, representative, accessible, and transparent data, ideally collected with and governed by communities, are also critical for calling for, evaluating, and continually improving heat policy.

Given this context, the NAM Climate Communities Network hosted an event to bring together community members, decision-makers, and others working at the intersection of heat, health, and policy. The convening spotlighted actionable strategies to address data gaps and share lessons from the design and implementation of exemplar heat and programs. The event also demonstrated how data-informed policy can reduce heat-related deaths and safeguard community health and provided attendees with practical tools, tailored to their spheres of influence, to advance effective, community-informed heat policy.