Costs of climate change: U.s. was not prepared for heatwaves in summer 2011

Adapting to heatwaves is becoming more critical as the climate changes and extreme heat events are occurring more frequently than in decades past. Despite this trend, previous research suggests that very few U.S. communities have programs in place to prevent health problems during hot weather. The summer of 2011 in the continental U.S. presented an opportunity to study public health preparedness when 41 of the lower 48 states experienced record-breaking hot weather. This report examines local heat adaptation programs and their cost for local county government entities after the 2011 heat wave. Using a multi-modal survey approach, local health and emergency response departments were invited to participate in a survey about their climate change adaptation plans. Overall, 62% of the total respondents did not have a heatwaves plan in place. Surprisingly, those states that did not experience a heatwave in 2011 were more prepared than the states that did experience a heatwave. Other insights about public education, opening cooling centers and collaborations to prevent heat-related health problems were extracted. Overall, very few financial and human capital resources are committed to planning. Locally, coping capacity can be influenced by managerial ability, access to financial, technological resources, infrastructure, and political influence. Studies show that more time and resources have been spent on projecting climate change impacts than on building local capacity to manage and plan for climate-sensitive health threats. Our research amplifies the need for a dedicated federal and local strategy to address extreme weather event planning, funding and education.