Heat-Health Work Group
Leads: Ben Zaitchik (Johns Hopkins University) and Cascade Tuholske (Montana State University)
Earth’s average surface temperature in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Continuing the planet’s long-term warming trend, global temperatures in 2022 were 0.89 degrees Celsius (1.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average for NASA’s baseline period (1951–1980), according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). Credit: NASA
This Work Group aims to build a global mapping capability that conveys heat risk and identifies the most critical used or needed heat, forecast, land cover, and social vulnerability data.
Primary Goal
To reduce morbidity and mortality associated with extreme heat events and rising temperatures through reliable, decision-relevant integrated information systems, that include early warning, targeted to reduce heat impacts on vulnerable populations.
This effort will focus on identifying, applying and documenting Earth observation (EO) needs to reduce heat-related health risks.
The goal is to build a globally relevant capacity to use EO to understand, predict, and reduce health risks from heat across time scales.