Managing heat-health risks in the urban Northeast: lessons from summer 2020

Abstract:

Most cities and states in the U.S. Northeast region have adopted programs to enhance community resilience to extreme heat events, often involving the opening of cooling centers or promoting the use of shared cooler spaces, as well as increased access to private air conditioning. With the COVID-19 outbreak and the need for continued physical distancing, some of these strategies might put people at increased risk. There is a need for discussion on which existing strategies for mitigating the adverse health effects of extreme heat are still appropriate within the context of COVID-19 and what new strategies currently not being used could be implemented.

In response, the NOAA-funded RISA project, the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN) along with its NOAA partners co-hosted a webinar and discussion on May 20, 2020 titled “Planning for Extreme Heat Events in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Panelists presented on the latest science of extreme heat exposure and health impacts, potential summer 2020 heat conditions, and possible strategies for how to address summertime extreme heat if cooling centers or other public sites remain closed during that time. Discussions included proposals that could be implemented by this summer. Social and environmental equity considerations were also introduced into the discussion.

Following the May workshop, the Northeast went on to experience one of the hottest summers in recent memory. It is timely to take stock of the strategies that were used to reduce heat-related health risks in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in the NE US. These include:
-- Microclimate analysis to identify vulnerable neighborhoods in urban areas where intervention may be needed. This includes the use of remote sensing data and expanding weather monitoring stations.
-- New strategies to help urban residents cope with urban heat, such as evaporating techniques, cool materials, and greenery.
-- Changed conditions due to the pandemic, such as social distancing, more time at home, greater economic hardship, which may change the context of climate and health vulnerabilities.
-- How building relationships between science and key public health stakeholders, such as those fostered by the CCRUN RISA, can facilitate rapid responses to emerging heat-health challenges.