Welcome to the Create a Heat Action Plan module! A heat action plan integrates a portfolio of assessments and actions to respond to and reduce heat-related impacts. The heat action planning process should be co-led with community partners and bring together diverse actors across sectors to increase coordination in preparation, response, and recovery stages of heat management.

These plans may include both emergency response activities and long-term heat preparedness and cooling interventions across sectors. They often include an agreed-upon plan of action outlining roles and responsibilities between departments and organizations both internal and external to a municipal government.

This module synthesizes the preceding planning steps to help you develop an implementable heat action plan grounded in leading practices.

A successful heat action plan:

• Grounds interventions in the needs of the most heat-vulnerable by creating pathways for community members to co-create the plan from the beginning of the development process
• Takes a whole system approach considering initiatives from revising building codes to public health preparedness measures
• Mainstreams heat planning into regional urban planning through embedding heat interventions in existing regulatory frameworks and planning processes
• Identifies a responsible heat champion or group of champions that can advocate for and drive the implementation of interventions to mitigate the impact of extreme heat
• Establishes and outlines a feasible system to monitor clear metrics to track the progress of interventions in reducing the negative impacts of extreme heat

Explaining heat risks and impacts

Heat action plans often begin by defining the heat-related challenges that the jurisdiction faces—in essence, setting the context for why planning and action are necessary. Two commonly referenced types of data that can tell the story and provide evidence of these challenges are:

• The number of heat wave days (or extremely hot days), and any trends in frequency.
• Heat mapping or vulnerability mapping, which respectively identify exposure to heat and vulnerability of specific populations or neighborhoods.

See “Impacts of extreme heat in the region” below for other examples of risks and impacts a plan might include, from current events to more formal studies and climate modeling.

Impacts of extreme heat in the region

Heat-exposed populations

To help identify and prioritize interventions, heat action plans typically include a population analysis, which highlights key populations are particularly at risk to consequences of extreme heat. This analysis often takes the form of a:

• Vulnerable populations table, which enables public officials to devise more targeted interventions by identifying people who are most heat-exposed or who have physiological, social, or economic vulnerabilities to heat.
• Vulnerability mapping analysis, which enables planners to use spatial, temperature, and demographic data to identify which neighborhoods should be prioritized in investment and heat wave response.
• Qualitative reports, which include community voices and perspectives to highlight firsthand experience of heat exposure or vulnerability.

Existing heat-related plans, protocols and systems

Local and regional governments often have multiple plans that either reduce or exacerbate urban heat. For example, urban tree canopy plans, hazard mitigation plans, or comprehensive plans may already be in place. Practitioners should be familiar with these plans and work to recognize and build on them in a heat action plan. This integration of prior efforts will also acknowledge any community input and investment that has gone into prior planning efforts.

Heat action plans can also acknowledge any existing heat-related protocols and systems (e.g., heat wave thresholds or early warning systems), to outline the environment within which an action plan will be developed and carried out.

• Heat wave thresholds: As there is no global definition of a heat wave, local or national heat wave thresholds define particularly dangerous temperature conditions.
• Early warning systems: Issue heat warnings based on a set threshold or qualitative impact assessment process to keep the public and partners notified of dangerous conditions.

Types of interventions

• Planning and policy: New regulations, codes or action plans
• Communications and outreach: Campaigns to raise public awareness or provide critical services for heat wave management
• Green and natural infrastructure: Nature-based greening and water solutions
• Buildings and built form: Introduction of new standards or infrastructural upgrades for buildings

Some heat resilience interventions will be ongoing; others should be deployed for heat event(s) and/or heat season(s).

For further resources to identify extreme heat interventions for your region, please explore the following Heat Action Platform sections: Develop an Education & Engagement Strategy, Explore Heat Adaptation Solutions or the Heat Action Platform Policy Tool.

Primary responsible agency or officer and their key duties

A primary responsible actor, such as a designated officer or lead government agency, should be identified when devising a Heat Action Plan to coordinate the development, activation, implementation and monitoring of the plan.

List of agencies and civil society partners

Comprehensive heat action planning should be a holistic effort, co-created with government, civil society, community groups and community members, to ensure an effective and sustainable response to extreme heat.

For example, in the United States, during the creation of the Miami-Dade County Extreme Heat Action Plan, Miami-Dade County led a series of workshops to engage 298 residents, stakeholders, and experts to learn more about extreme heat and recommend actions. The plan development process was guided by a Climate and Heat Health Task Force, which included community members, community-based organizations, and other county stakeholders.

In India, the Telangana Heatwave Action Plan included the Disaster Management Authority, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Department, Public Health and Family Welfare Department, Indian Meteorological Division, Labor and Employment Department, Transport Department, School Education Department and Urban Development Department as partners, among others.

Mapping interventions to responsible actors

To ensure all accountable actors are aware of their responsibilities for short- and long-term interventions, heat action plans should include a table identifying responsible parties for each agreed intervention.

Implementation timeline for extreme heat interventions

To establish a clear path forward for implementing interventions, heat action plans should include an implementation timeline for short- and long-term interventions across both heat season and heat events.

Identifying Funding and Financing

Heat action plans should identify sources of funding or financing for key short-, medium- and long-term interventions to ensure recommendations will be implemented. See the Fund and Finance Heat Action module for more information.

Cadence of review for Heat Action Plans

Heat action plans need to reflect both extreme heat information and current vulnerabilities; they should be seen as living documents, and regularly updated. The heat planning process should include agreeing on a cadence (every 2 years; every 5 years) for review of the plan with stakeholders.

Reporting heat-related health impacts

To address gaps in knowledge on causes and severity of heat-related death and illnesses, reporting formats can be included as part of heat action plans. This will ensure consistency and comprehensiveness of data collection related to factors contributing to heat-related deaths and illnesses.

Monitoring and evaluation of heat action plans

To ensure heat resilience strategies are achieving their intended goals, heat action plans should establish a monitoring and evaluation process including key performance indicators, timeline for monitoring (monthly, quarterly, yearly) and the main responsible party conducting the assessment. For more information, see the Monitor and Evaluate Heat Action module.