Building Equitable Heat Governance with NOAA through Community-Led Assessments and Activities

In response to global, record-breaking heat events around the world that claim hundreds of lives each year, governments are in search of the most effective solutions to reduce heat risk. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and decision-makers in six U.S. cities have facilitated tabletop exercises to engage community partners about the impacts of extreme heat. These projects have improved heat awareness communication and intervention across organizations, particularly in underserved communities, and have linked both short term preparedness and long-term resilience planning. Ten additional communities have recently been selected to run their own tabletop exercises through a Challenge competition.

As a direct result of these exercises, last year, NOAA published the Maturity Model for Heat Governance, a guidance document that allows leaders and decision-makers to examine their capacity to successfully manage heat risk.

This presentation provides an overview of these exercises that worked to build equitable heat resilience. We will discuss how these tabletop exercises were organized, the successes and shortcomings of these events, how communities can implement their own, and how to utilize the Maturity Model to assess heat governance.