A Variety of Community Approaches to Extreme Heat

Hello! As August winds down, communities across the U.S. are still experiencing sweltering heat, and the negative human health impacts that comes with. This week, we have a selection of local reporting on how Southeastern cities can improve their response for those in harms way.

– Michael Crowe, Editor/Project Manager, Covering Climate Collab

Reporting from Our Partners

Tracyann Marshall (not pictured) sprays her child Skylar McGraw, 7, at a children’s pool in Gadsden Green on July 31, 2023, in Charleston. Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff awhitaker@postandcourier.com

Post & Courier: As extreme heat rises, Charleston area ‘far behind’ peers in planning for the worst

A record-breaking heat wave has scorched much of the Southwest and parts of the Southeast this summer. South Carolina hasn’t yet felt sustained temperatures over 100 degrees, which has given the region time to plan for the worst. But what is the plan?

Doctor David Farcy works on David Patlak, acting as a cardiac arrest patient during an emergency drill, at Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Emergency Room, July 24, 2015. Floridians are already experiencing the health effects of climate change, including heat stroke and heart problems, doctors say. Now some medical practitioners are banding together to educate and advocate for their patients as the Florida Clinicians for Climate Action. EMILY MICHOT Miami Herald Staff

Miami Herald: How deadly is Florida heat? There’s a big gap between official numbers and likely impact

Calculating the damage from a hurricane or wildfire is straightforward, but heat proves more difficult.

A screenshot from the WKMG story about extreme heat of the front of a home.

WKMG Orlando: ‘It makes me sick:’ Extreme heat hits Central Florida’s lower income communities

As Central Florida sets records for extreme heat, the rising temperatures are threatening some residents’ health.

News from the Collab

Observations from SEJ: Connecting extreme weather and climate change

We all recognize that extreme weather events have become both more common and more severe. This increasing, and increasingly obvious, threat to communities also creates an opportunity to make the connection to climate change.

From Our Science Partners

Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Spring 2023

Climate Change in the American Mind is conducted jointly by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.

What we're reading

Erosion threatens a famed national park lodge - a 'messenger' of future climate-driven hazards
The handful of states that have received 88% of electric vehicle investment in the last year, via E&E News reporter David Ferris
Also in E&E News - "How climate change shaped California’s first tropical storm in decades"

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