Building Partnerships for Pacific Northwest Heat Resilience: Equitable Innovations in Preparedness, Response, and Mitigation

The typically temperate Pacific Northwest was underprepared when the 2021 Heat Dome hit, and many people died or suffered from heat-related illnesses with an excess of 159 injury deaths in Washington alone. Heat is a significant challenge in the region due to limited air conditioning and experience with heat among its residents. Following the Heat Dome, regional leaders called on their public health agencies to prevent future heat waves from having such a devastating impact on human health. With support and coordination from the University of Washington, the Collaborative on Extreme Heat Events (the “Collaborative”) was formed in 2023 to provide a forum for public health agencies serving the metropolitan areas of Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, BC, to share their experiences and innovations in responding to extreme heat. Together, these agencies, internationally recognized for their commitment to climate change and health equity, hosted four peer-sharing webinars on extreme heat preparedness and adaptation topics: agency experiences during the 2021 Heat Dome, early warning systems for extreme heat, extreme heat and the built environment, and extreme heat and community partnerships. Building on the information exchange made possible from these webinars, the Collaborative hosted a three hour virtual workshop with researchers, practitioners, and community leaders in climate change, public health, health equity, urban planning, emergency management, and sustainability. The goals of the workshop were to build a community of practice focused on extreme heat and health equity and identify gaps in practice, policy, and research, coupled with actionable recommendations, relating to extreme heat events. The small group discussions elicited short- and long-term ideas for preparing for and responding to extreme heat events. We then co-developed a report that summarizes those action and research ideas under the categories of Infrastructure, Funding, Collaboration, Communications, Workforce, Planning, and Heat and Health. The Collaborative has brought together an interdisciplinary community of practice to coordinate extreme heat response innovations and sustainable partnership opportunities for climate change resilience and equitable health outcomes during future extreme heat events across the Pacific Northwest. This presentation will describe the context, formation process, and activities of the Collaborative, how it has advanced regional cooperation, and the major findings of the workshop report.