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Extreme Heat

Each year, extreme heat kills more people than any other weather-related cause in the United States and leads to substantial heat-related injuries and illnesses. These health consequences also result in costly health care system expenditures and lower economic productivity. Heat waves, fueled by climate change, have become more intense and more frequent. Accordingly, recent years have been among the hottest on record.

The Center for American Progress advocates for federal and state policies to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat on individuals and communities, particularly those at greatest risk of injury or death due to increased exposure, preexisting health conditions, and other underlying social and economic inequities. These actions include improving the technology to predict heat waves and identify effective interventions; expanding heat resilience protections; ensuring the health care system is resilient and can respond to heat events; and transitioning to a 100 percent clean energy economy to rapidly reduce carbon and other planet-warming pollution, slowing climate change and rising temperatures.

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2024 Elections and the Future of Global Climate Ambition Report
Cranes surround the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, England.

2024 Elections and the Future of Global Climate Ambition

As the 2024 elections usher in new leaders and reshuffle political power, the trajectory of climate ambition is at a crossroads, with the potential to accelerate toward meaningful progress or falter in the face of new obstacles.

Kalina Gibson

How Congress Can Protect Families From Dangerous Heat and Ensure Cool and Healthy Homes for All Report
A woman watches as person installs a heat pump

How Congress Can Protect Families From Dangerous Heat and Ensure Cool and Healthy Homes for All

On the heels of record-breaking heat this summer and fall, Congress must act to safeguard low-income Americans from extreme heat by investing in efficient and cost-effective heat pump air conditioning and programs to lower electricity costs for households.

Cathleen Kelly, Lucero Marquez, Jasia Smith

Rising Extreme Heat Compounds the U.S. Maternal Health Crisis Report
A midwife picks greens for a pregnant mother and her daughter.

Rising Extreme Heat Compounds the U.S. Maternal Health Crisis

Policymakers must act to protect the health and safety of pregnant people—including by passing the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act, increasing access to indoor home cooling, and quickly adopting a federal occupational heat standard.

Amina Khalique

Protecting Americans From Extreme Heat Past Event

Protecting Americans From Extreme Heat

Join CAP for an event discussing policy proposals and actions that can protect those most vulnerable to extreme heat.

Hear From a Pediatrician: How Extreme Heat Endangers Children’s Health and What We Can Do About It Video

Hear From a Pediatrician: How Extreme Heat Endangers Children’s Health and What We Can Do About It

Dr. Debra Hendrickson, clinical professor of pediatrics and author of The Air They Breathe, explains the risks extreme heat and climate change pose to children's health and the actions parents, communities, and policymakers can take to protect them.

Allie Schneider, Hailey Gibbs, Paige Shoemaker DeMio, 1 More Olivia Mowry

Executive Summary: Protecting Children From Extreme Heat Is Critical for Their Health, Learning, and Development Fact Sheet
The sun sets in New York City as children cool off.

Executive Summary: Protecting Children From Extreme Heat Is Critical for Their Health, Learning, and Development

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center of American Progress report highlighting the need for policymakers to take steps to develop heat standards for children and support infrastructure improvements to ensure schools, child care centers, and communities are safe and healthy places for children.

Allie Schneider, Paige Shoemaker DeMio, Hailey Gibbs, 1 More Lisette Partelow

Protecting Children From Extreme Heat Is Critical for Their Health, Learning, and Development Report
Children cool off by playing in a fountain in Brooklyn’s Domino Park, New York, during a heat wave.

Protecting Children From Extreme Heat Is Critical for Their Health, Learning, and Development

As climate change intensifies extreme heat around the globe, policymakers must take steps to develop heat standards for children and support infrastructure improvements to ensure schools, child care centers, and communities are safe and healthy places for children.

Allie Schneider, Paige Shoemaker DeMio, Hailey Gibbs, 1 More Lisette Partelow

Securing Environmental Justice for All Report
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House before signing an executive order that would create the White House Office of Environmental Justice.

Securing Environmental Justice for All

The Biden administration has launched the most ambitious climate and environmental justice agenda in history to ensure that every community has clean air and water, can access living-wage jobs and affordable clean energy, and is protected from climate change threats.

Cathleen Kelly, Michele Roberts, Rachel Chang

Facing the Fire: Phoenix Airport Workers Demand Protections Against Extreme Heat Video

Facing the Fire: Phoenix Airport Workers Demand Protections Against Extreme Heat

Amid record-breaking temperatures, Phoenix airport service workers filed an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) complaint against their employer and are demanding action to improve job conditions and safety measures.

Hannah Malus, Margaret Cooney, Devon Lespier, 4 More Toni Pandolfo, Hai-Lam Phan, Madalyn Reagan, Jeremy Hill

The Health Care Costs of Extreme Heat Report

The Health Care Costs of Extreme Heat

Daily climate and health care utilization data from Virginia illuminate the health care costs of extreme heat, which amount to approximately $1 billion every summer when extrapolated nationally.

Steven Woolf, Joseph Morina, Evan French, 6 More Adam Funk, Roy Sabo, Stephen Fong, Jeremy Hoffman, Derek Chapman, Alex Krist

Ensuring All Can Prosper as ‘Hotlanta’ Gets Hotter Report

Ensuring All Can Prosper as ‘Hotlanta’ Gets Hotter

Atlanta’s inclusive efforts to battle economic inequality and climate change in tandem can guide cities throughout the United States.

Danielle Baussan

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