Sec. 3. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: Extreme heat events have been the leading cause of weather-related death in the United States over the last 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Weather Service. The fourth National Climate Assessment, mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 ( 15 U.S.C. 2921 et seq. ), finds that during the next few decades, annual average temperature over the contiguous United States is projected to increase by a further 2.2°F relative to current temperatures, regardless of future scenarios.
The National Climate Assessment projects that the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events will increase in the future as global temperature increases. Exposure to extreme heat can cause acute heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke, which already result in more than 65,000 emergency room visits each year and exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. Heat poses the greatest health risks for adults older than 65 years of age, pregnant people, young children, low-income communities, urban communities, communities with low air conditioning prevalence, socially isolated individuals, people with mental or physical disabilities, people with underlying medical conditions, agricultural or other outdoor workers, workers without sufficient access to cooling, athletes, incarcerated individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and military personnel.
Increasingly common environmental exposures exacerbated by climate change, such as extreme heat, are significantly associated with serious adverse pregnancy outcomes across the United States. Those adverse pregnancy outcomes disproportionately impact Black mothers. Heat exposure is an issue of environmental justice, as people living in low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal communities face a number of interacting factors that render them more vulnerable to extreme heat.
The impacts of heat on human health are more severe in urban areas where land surface properties create an urban heat island, particularly in neighborhoods with limited availability of or access to green spaces, shade, and tree cover, higher density of building structures, and more vehicular traffic. Limited availability of tree cover and higher temperatures are correlated with low-income neighborhoods in urban areas. In Richmond, Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., researchers found that heat risk is disproportionately distributed to communities of color in patterns associated with segregation and redlining.
Researchers have found that few communities in the United States have sufficient climate and health information, guidance, and resources for heat planning, preparedness, and response. The risks associated with extreme heat have complex interactions and impacts, and the management of those risks requires a transdisciplinary approach. Regions, communities, and populations that face the greatest health consequences of extreme heat often may experience the lowest heat risk perceptions, have limited incentives, or have access to the fewest resources for responding to extreme heat, and as such, may be less likely to take precautions.
Research on the impacts of extreme heat on human health and the effectiveness of solutions under varying climate, social, and other contexts is stymied by a lack of access to reliable, timely health observations and surveillance due to proprietary data rights, expense, privacy and security concerns, inconsistent reporting of health outcomes and contributory factors, poor data integration and interoperability, few incentives and little systematic coordination to address those problems, and a lack of adequate climate observation, modeling, and assessment in urban, indoor, and occupational settings.
Integrated climate and health research and information, when developed in a collaborative, transdisciplinary manner, can inform long- and medium-range scenario-based planning and decision making to protect vulnerable communities and populations from extreme heat, reduce exposure to extreme heat, and address factors that increase vulnerability. Heat action plans and early warning systems can reduce heat-related morbidity and mortality by clearly identifying roles and responsibilities as well as evidence-based actions and thresholds to enhance preparedness, and by promoting behavior changes and actions taken by local governments, communities, and individuals through awareness and increased risk perception among those most vulnerable to the health impacts of heat.
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