A webinar next week is set to bring together climate scientists, public health professionals and policy specialists to speak on the dangers of extreme heat.
The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency and the State Climate Office of North Carolina are hosting “Navigating North Carolina’s Rising Temperatures: Understanding and Addressing the Health Risks of Heat.” The webinar is from 10-11:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 17. Register at go.ncsu.edu/heat-health.
Sponsor Spotlight
“We know North Carolina summers are getting hot. But they’re getting hotter, and we’re especially seeing the increase in nighttime temperatures. Heat illness and death is also preventable. Flooding gets a lot of attention — but heat is more of a chronic, silent threat,” State Climate Office Director Kathie Dello said.
“Each year, on average, heat kills more people than all other natural disasters combined,” NCORR’s Resilience Policy Advisor Andrea Webster told Coastal Review, adding that while many coastal residents are “understandably preparing for the impacts of stronger hurricanes and heavy precipitation events,” they shouldn’t forget about heat.
As more heat records are broken — March 2024 was the warmest March ever recorded globally — stronger hurricanes, more intense wildfires and other climate-related challenges, Webster said the NCORR Resilience Program team is working to help local governments and elected officials reduce economic, social and environmental consequences, and managing the impacts.
Local governments “have protocols they enact when hurricanes or ice storms hit, but they typically don’t have a plan of action for when a heat wave is in the forecast,” Webster said.
Speakers during the webinar will talk about the state’s changing temperatures, the dangers of extreme heat to human health, evidence-based strategies for preventing heat-related illnesses, how communities are already preparing, and how the state can help.
Sponsor Spotlight
In addition to the host agencies, partners for the webinar are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Carolinas Climate Adaptation Partnership, the Duke University Heat Policy Innovation Hub, Chatham County Public Health Department, and N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health.
Looking ahead, NCORR, the State Climate Office and the Department of Health and Human Services plan to release a Heat Action Plan Toolkit later this month to help local governments and health professionals encourage residents to take care of themselves during extreme heat.
Webster said the toolkit will include extreme heat thresholds to help local governments know when to implement heat preparedness activities. Thresholds for multi-county regions across the state are being developed.
Dello said that the State Climate Office works to help residents understand their weather and climate risks.
“We do this in a few different ways,” Dello said, including with original research in partnership with state agencies, working with N.C. Cooperative Extension and N.C. Sea Grant to raise awareness, and work with K-12 teachers to teach them about the environment.
The webinar came about at the request of communities that are already preparing their residents for extreme heat, Webster said.
NCORR, the State Climate Office and other partners held last a workshop last summer in Fayetteville on heat action protocol development.
“When asked what additional resources would be helpful, the local governments in attendance requested a ‘heat and health 101’ training. This workshop is in direct response to that request,” Webster said.
Dello added that this how a lot of their projects and work begins.
“Someone expresses an idea or need, and we’ll assemble the resources to try to help them out,” Dello said.
NCORR has been working with the local governments in the Community Disaster Resilience Zones, or CDRZ, designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last year. These zones, which include nearly all coastal counties, were designated to “build and strengthen community resilience across the nation by driving federal, public, and private resources to the most at-risk and in-need communities,” according to FEMA.
The team is meeting with officials to help them understand the risks of climate change in their community and what resources and solutions are available to help.
“North Carolina residents are used to hot temperatures, but we need to start preparing for more frequent heat waves and high nighttime temperatures,” which Webster said is especially concerning because of the increase in emergency room visits from not being able to cool down several nights in a row. “That continued stress on our bodies leads to health impacts such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and even mortality. Unlike other climate change impacts, heat-related mortality and morbidity are 100% preventable.”
Webster said NCORR hopes to offer more opportunities to learn about preventing heat impacts on residents and infrastructure in the future. Sign up for the NCORR Resiliency Updates e-newsletter to learn more.
“There are steps we can take to keep our residents and our tourists cool. North Carolina’s coast has a high number of outside visitors in the summer months. If they come from a much cooler area, their bodies are likely less adapted to extreme heat. Raising public awareness of symptoms, cooling and hydration strategies, and resources to stay cool can drastically reduce health impacts and emergency department visits,” Webster said.
