Extreme heat is among the deadliest of natural disasters, by some estimates, claiming over a quarter million lives worldwide annually.1 Heat is also tinder for mega droughts, wildfires, and super storms, which as recent events illustrate,2 compound its hazards and impacts. With heatwaves predicted to become both more frequent and more intense,3 solutions to prepare for and prevent their impacts on people’s wellbeing are urgently needed.
Universities are well positioned to lend their academic expertise and convening power to address the escalating crisis of extreme heat. Centers for higher learning can bridge research and policy gaps on global warming and arm decision makers with the data they need to make informed and impactful decisions that will save lives. At the same time, universities offer platforms where all stakeholders can find space to re-envision the future, advance solutions, and commission new research. Diverse centers of learning and community can underwrite the multi-disciplinary approaches that will help prepare for an ever-warmer future – locally and globally.
Towards this end, Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania has drafted this toolkit. It derives from its convening design experience as well as project-based work across sub-national, national, and international levels on extreme heat, among other climate-related topics. The toolkit supports universities and their partners –all around the world – to capitalize on their ability to foment substantive and cross-disciplinary collaboration that builds resilience to the heatwaves of today and tomorrow.
