April 23, 2024 – The National Weather Service will now issue heat warnings in a brand new way, using a system called HeatRisk.
The week-long forecast system will help people make their plans with heat safety in mind. It can even help health systems and other organizations affected by extreme heat prepare for changes in operations, resembling adjusting staffing levels in emergency departments and urgent care centers or adjusting field employee schedules.
The system was developed by the CDC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and introduced on Monday. Here's how it really works:
- The HeatRisk levels range from 0 to 4 and are color-coded. The top two colours are red (for level 3 or high risk) and magenta (for level 4 or extreme risk).
- In addition to temperature, several other aspects play a task in these values, resembling the shortage of cooling at night or unusually high temperatures for the time of yr. Both can increase your risk of heat-related illness and worsen your health.
- Each day has a risk level and forecasts are published for 7-day periods.
The CDC maintains an internet site where users can look up HeatRisk by entering a PostcodeAs with many weather forecasts, HeatRisk might be used with a Map viewwhere the color areas change throughout the week and show at national, regional and native level where people might have to take safety measures attributable to the warmth risk.
For example, this week's national heat risk map shows that South Texas and the greater Houston area are expected to experience a Level 2 heat risk by midweek. Level 2 (orange) represents a moderate risk that affects most heat-sensitive people.
A significant (red) heat risk implies that everyone can be affected unless they’ve access to cooling and hydration. An extreme (magenta) heat risk is defined as “rare and/or prolonged extreme heat with little to no overnight relief” and is anticipated to have widespread impacts on the population.
At the opposite end of the dimensions, low HeatRisk levels are essential warning signals that show heat-sensitive people or their caregivers that precautions are needed, resembling planning access to cooling and ensuring adequate hydration. Sensitive groups include children and adults with health conditions, pregnant women and outdoor staff.
“As climate change intensifies, extreme heat events will become more frequent, more severe and longer lasting. Issuing warnings and health advisories before or during extreme heat events can save lives,” says the HeatRisk website.
The local HeatRisk levels take into consideration not only temperature but additionally historical health data collected by the CDC, resembling what number of local emergency room visits attributable to heat have been reported prior to now. When HeatRisk developers combined their latest risk levels with information from Arizona, resembling emergency room visits and heat-related calls to local fire and health departments, the very best risk levels corresponded to the times with probably the most emergency room calls or emergency room visits.
A brand new CDC report suggested that men and young and middle-aged adults might have to take more precautions as temperatures rise. Men were greater than twice as likely as women to go to the emergency department for treatment for heat-related illnesses in 2023, and adults ages 18 to 64 were also more prone to be treated within the emergency department for heat-related health problems than those ages 65 and older. Overall, heat-related illnesses treated in emergency departments nationwide in 2023 exceeded the rates recorded from 2018 to 2022.