Extreme Heat is Adversely Affecting People’s Lives
Heatwaves are among the deadliest weather-related hazards. According to the Sixth Assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the occurrence of extreme heat events is unprecedented in the observed record and will grow. As climate change continues to intensify hazards that workers and communities face, extreme heat will increase stress on people’s lives, their health, and infrastructure. In fact, global heat-related deaths of the elderly could quadruple by the middle of the century if action is not taken on climate change. The impact of extreme heat incidents can persist for years and affect a country and a community’s ability to recover from other stressors.
Federal agencies operating overseas and United States Government (USG) implementing partners can reduce the negative impacts of heat on human health. They can also increase the resilience of their workforce and the communities that they operate in against extreme heat incidents through long-term planning, early warning systems, education, infrastructure improvements, humanitarian assistance considerations, and engaging country and community leaders.
