Extreme heat is a global health emergency.

Extreme Heat Risk Governance Framework and Toolkit

2025

Extreme heat is one of the world’s most dangerous climate challenges, threatening health, livelihoods, and infrastructure. This new resource provides practical tools for national and local authorities to strengthen coordination, planning, and investment to protect people and systems from escalating heat impacts. The Framework defines how governments, communities, and institutions can work together to reduce risks in the short, medium, and long term, from early warnings and emergency response to long-term planning and resilience. It offers a flexible, evidence-based approach that can be adapted to any setting, whether a low-resource community, a growing city, or a national government. Developed through collaboration among more than a dozen global experts and institutions, the Framework incorporates lessons from real-world case studies across different regions. It will be piloted in several countries in the coming year, with updates informed by local experience and feedback.   Three core tools help decision makers put the framework into action: Assess the Maturity of your Extreme Heat Risk Governance This tool helps governments and partners take stock of how ready they are to manage extreme heat. It looks at five areas – awareness, leadership, response, resources, and collaboration – to find what’s working well and what needs improvement. Operationalize Extreme Heat Risk Governance This tool helps turn plans into coordinated action. It walks users through a simple four-step cycle – Demand, Plan, Act, and Learn & Improve – to strengthen teamwork, share information, and build capacity across sectors. Plan for Heat Action This tool helps identify what makes a strong Heat Action Plan. It includes examples and tips to support long-term planning and cooperation across sectors, helping communities become more resilient to extreme heat. These tools are designed for use by government agencies, urban planners, public health authorities, emergency managers, development partners, and investors. It supports more inclusive, data-driven, and equitable governance of extreme heat, ensuring that efforts to prevent and respond to heat are coherent and sustainable.  

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Overview for Network Partners: Global Heat Health Information Network

What is the Global Heat Health Information Network, and why should your organization get involved? This overview provides information for current and potential partners on the Network’s structure, priorities and activities.

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The 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change

2025

The report finds health risks and impacts of climate change are worsening, with millions dying needlessly each year due to fossil fuel dependence, growing greenhouse gas emissions, and failure to adequately adapt to climate change. As some countries and companies rollback on climate commitments, local and grassroots leadership is building momentum for a healthier future, from the bottom up.​ The report represents the work of 128 experts from 71 institutions, monitoring progress across 57 indicators – from heat-related deaths to bank lending to fossil fuels – providing the most comprehensive assessment yet of the links between climate change and health. Findings on heat and health include the following: Heat-related deaths have risen by 63% since the 1990s, now averaging 546,000 deaths per year (2012–2021). Between 2020 and 2024, 84% of the heatwave days people experienced each year would not have occurred without climate change. 123.7 million more people are facing moderate or severe food insecurity linked to more frequent droughts and heatwaves. Lost labour productivity due to heat amounted to US$1.09 trillion in potential income losses in 2024, with the heaviest impacts falling on low- and medium-income countries.

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Handbook on Urban Heat Management in the Global South

2025

Extreme heat is reshaping life in cities. For millions of people, especially in fast-growing urban areas of the Global South, higher temperatures are making it harder to earn a living, attend school, access healthcare, or move safely throughout the day. Extreme urban heat and lack of sustainable cooling is threatening productivity, deepening inequality, and increasing the risk of displacement when communities can no longer cope. Cities cannot afford to treat extreme heat as a seasonal inconvenience. Without action, heat will erode livelihoods and overwhelm urban infrastructure and services. It will fuel unemployment, drive internal and cross-border migration, and put massive demands on energy systems. Cities must act now to manage rising temperatures before it is too late. The Handbook on Urban Heat Management in the Global South, developed by the World Bank in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), offers a practical response. It brings together real examples and strategies from cities that are already tackling extreme heat. It focuses on powerful solutions that are feasible, affordable, and easy to adapt – especially those that expand access to accessible, sustainable cooling.    

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Fundamentals for Thermal Comfort and Safety: Designing Climate-Ready Playgrounds

2025

Whether it is adding a landscaping feature, repositioning playground amenities, renovation, or new construction, this guidebook shares the fundamentals of thermal comfort and safety for climate-ready playgrounds. The information is applicable for planners, educators, directors, owners and operators (such as child care and school facilities; municipalities and parks; and community housing), designers, landscape architects, playground equipment and surfacing installers, insurance agencies, civic organizations, parents, grandparents, community members, and other youth organizations. The guidebook highlights challenges and describes the effects that climate has on playgrounds. It provides useful considerations, including four phases to help designers improve a playground’s microclimate. An emphasis is placed on helping playground design planning committees navigate using climate data, conduct site assessments, implement modifications, maintain the playground, and evaluate outcomes.     Principes fondamentaux du confort thermique et de la sécurité : l’aménagement de terrains de jeu adaptés au climat Le présent guide présente les principes fondamentaux du confort thermique et de la sécurité des terrains de jeu. Il explique comment adapter ces derniers au climat par l’ajout d’éléments paysagers ou de constructions, le déplacement de l’équipement de jeu ou encore la rénovation. Les renseignements s’adressent aux aménagistes, aux éducateurs et éducatrices, aux directeurs et directrices, aux propriétaires et responsables (dans le cas d’écoles et de garderies, d’espaces municipaux et de parcs ainsi que de logements communautaires), aux concepteurs et conceptrices, aux architectes paysagistes, aux installateurs et installatrices de revêtement et d’équipement de jeu, aux compagnies d’assurances, aux organisations citoyennes, aux parents, aux grands-parents, aux membres de la collectivité et aux organisations de jeunesse. Le guide relève plusieurs défis et décrit les effets du climat sur les terrains de jeu. Il présente des facteurs utiles à prendre en compte, dont 4 étapes permettant aux responsables de l’aménagement d’améliorer le microclimat des terrains de jeu. En particulier, ce guide vise à aider les comités de planification des terrains de jeu à utiliser les données sur le climat, à évaluer les sites, à les modifier, à entretenir les terrains de jeu et à évaluer les résultats.

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Climate Change and Workplace Heat Stress: Technical Report and Guidance

2025

As record-breaking heat puts workers’ health and livelihoods at growing risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have released new joint guidance on workplace heat stress, the first such global guidance since WHO’s last report on the topic in 1969. The report provides evidence-based recommendations to protect workers from rising temperatures and outlines practical measures to safeguard both health and productivity. The new guidance highlights ten key actions for protecting workers in agriculture, construction, and other heat-exposed sectors:   Combine exposure prevention and health surveillance to reduce heat stress, manage physiological strain, and prevent both short- and long-term health effects.  Develop targeted programmes with specific interventions for high-risk workers and workplaces.  Design comprehensive advisories that account for weather, clothing, work type, intensity, duration, payment methods, and adaptive strategies.  Prioritize vulnerable populations, including older workers, those with chronic conditions, and individuals with lower physical fitness.  Strengthen medical awareness and training to improve recognition, treatment, and prevention of heat-related conditions.  Engage key stakeholders such as employers, workers, unions, occupational health experts, and local authorities.  Ensure feasibility, viability, and sustainability so policies remain practical, cost-effective, and environmentally sound, with measures covering prevention, acclimatization, monitoring, training, and emergency planning.  Explore technological solutions that can enhance both safety and productivity.  Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of policies and advisories to ensure maximum protection.  Integrate climate action, recognizing that tackling climate change is central to reducing future heat risks. 

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Extreme Heat Action Profiles

2025

Extreme heat is recognized as a critical challenge across all sectors. United Nations and international organizations are responding to Member needs with dedicated strategies, resources, and governance mechanisms that reflect the growing urgency to address heat. To better understand and elevate these efforts, we conducted a mapping exercise to showcase key findings and action on heat across the United Nations and international organizations. This process resulted in the development of sixteen Heat Action Profiles, each highlighting the specific initiatives, priorities, and contributions of profiled organizations.

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Stocktake Report: Heat action across United Nations Entities and International Organizations

2025

As global temperatures rise, extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and severe, posing significant risks to public health, infrastructure, and ecosystems worldwide. In response to this growing threat, the UN Secretary-General has issued a Call to Action on Extreme Heat, emphasizing the urgent need for coordinated global efforts. This report examines the current landscape of extreme heat management among United Nations entities and International Organizations (UN entities and IOs), identifying challenges, opportunities, and strategies for improving collaboration and governance to support this call to action.

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An Assessment of Heat Action Plans: Global standards, good practices and partnerships

2025

As global temperatures continue to rise, the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events have escalated, posing significant risks to public health, infrastructure, and economies worldwide. While Heat Action Plans (HAPs) help to mitigate these impacts across national, regional, and local levels of governance, the lack of formal standards has led to variations in structure, purpose, and implementation among nations, regions, and municipalities. This variability often results in fragmented approaches, leading to critical gaps in funding, vulnerability assessments, and long-term resilience strategies. This synthesis report identifies best practices and persistent challenges to provide a structured framework for improving heat resilience based on evaluations of heat action plans from six countries—Australia, Canada, France, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Although twelve countries were initially considered, no publicly accessible national or subnational heat action plans were identified for Argentina, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Egypt, South Korea, and Senegal. It advocates for an adaptable governance framework, proposing that national guidance related to HAPs incorporate adaptable core elements, such as standardized heat risk definitions, clear agency roles, multi-sector coordination, and early warning systems. This foundational structure would enable cohesive planning across governance levels, equipping regions to develop context-specific HAPs that align with national resilience objectives. The report also highlights persistent issues identified in recent evaluations, including the scarcity of dedicated funding mechanisms, inconsistent long-term planning, and limited evaluation capacities, which weaken the overall efficacy of many HAPs. By spotlighting best practices from the evaluated plans, this report provides adaptable recommendations that can help countries establish a national framework supporting sub-national plan development, thereby enabling unified, scalable responses that address both immediate and future heat risks effectively.

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Narrative Analysis: Case studies in heat resilience

2025

As climate change intensifies, extreme heat is emerging as a defining public health and development challenge across the globe. From heatwaves that overwhelm hospitals to chronic heat and urban heat islands that threaten vulnerable communities, the risks are growing, and so is the need for effective, coordinated responses. This narrative analysis highlights how twelve countries are confronting the realities of extreme heat through diverse governance models, partnerships, and innovations. The case studies span multiple regions and development contexts—Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, France, India, Senegal, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States—offering a cross-cutting view of what’s working, where gaps remain, and how national strategies are evolving in the face of escalating climate threats. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, these profiles underscore the importance of adaptable, community-centred solutions, multi-sector collaboration, and strong institutional frameworks. By capturing lessons, successes, and persistent challenges, this analysis contributes to the growing global dialogue on how to govern for resilience in a warming world. This collection of case studies complements the broader efforts led by the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN), UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in support of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat (2024).

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Report of the Expert Consultation on Extreme Heat Risk Reduction: Towards a common global framework

2025

This report summarizes the proceedings of the 17–19 December 2024 Expert Consultation ‘Extreme Heat Risk Reduction Towards a common global framework‘, where over 60 experts from government, international organizations, philanthropy, academia, and civil society met at WMO Headquarters in Geneva. Co-hosted by the WHO-WMO Joint Office for Climate and Health, UNDRR, and GHHIN, the consultation aimed to develop a shared framework for extreme heat risk governance. Through panels, case studies, and working sessions, participants examined governance challenges, cross-sectoral coordination, and strategies to scale effective solutions. A key focus was shifting from short-term projects to sustainable, institutionalized governance. The consultation produced three main outcomes: Consensus on the need for a common governance framework; Definition of core components including data integration, capacity building, and policy alignment; Agreement on a roadmap leading to a framework launch at GP2025. Follow-up focus groups in spring 2025 will address remaining gaps, especially in sectors such as transport, energy, cooling, and environmental management.

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Heat and Health: Action Statement from the Global Heat Health Information Network

2023

The Global Heat Health Information Network invites civil society, national governments and the international community to recognize the pressing urgency of addressing the health impacts of extreme heat and take bold, comprehensive, and coordinated actions to protect the well-being of our planet and its people.

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2023 State of Climate Services: Health

2023

The interconnection between climate and health is undeniable. The climate, exacerbated by climate change, poses systematic and serious threats to human health. Climate change is documented to be impacting human health in many complex ways, including by leading to death, injury and illness from heat stress, the disruption of ecosystems and food systems, increases in food-, and water- and vector-borne diseases, and exposure to air pollution. The 2023 edition of the WMO State of Climate Services report focuses on health, which highlights the importance of climate services and information in protecting lives and livelihoods. While there are many good examples of how countries are successfully using climate information and services to detect, monitor, predict and manage climate-related health risks, there is huge potential for enhancing the impact of climate science and services for health. This report examines the current state of climate services for health, and presents a series of next steps, recommendations and case studies.

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Summary for decision-makers to address gaps in climate science and services for health: 2023 State of Climate Services for Health Companion Document

2023

Fueled by climate change, more frequent extreme weather events and drastic environmental changes have a fundamental impact on human health and well-being. Tailored climate products and services can serve as a powerful part of the public health toolkit – enhancing our ability to detect, monitor, predict, and manage climate related health risks. Among other targets, the draft COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health calls for improving the ability of health systems to anticipate, and implement adaptation interventions against, climate-sensitive disease and health risks, including by bolstering climate-health information services, surveillance, early warning and response systems and a climate-ready health workforce. The 2023 WMO State of Climate Services for Health Report and the WHO-WMO Implementation Plan for Advancing Integrated Climate, Environment and Health Science and Services (2023-2033) outline the current gaps and barriers that must be urgently addressed to enhance the climate resiliency of the health sector. This summary outlines critical investment areas to address the gaps in Climate Science and Services for Health.

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Considerations Regarding the Naming of Heatwaves

2022

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) plays a central role in the global coordination of the naming of extreme weather events. International experts in public health, public policy, and meteorology were consulted to assess the advantages and disadvantages of naming heatwaves being piloted in several countries. At SERCOM-2 (Oct 2022), WMO Members considered the practice of naming heatwaves, and expressed caution in adopting or promoting this practice. Members requested WMO to focus attention on strengthening heat-health warning systems, enhancing technical heat forecasting capabilities, and building capacity and partnerships to protect vulnerable communities from extreme heat. Key findings are summarized in this Technical Brief.

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Final Report: From the G7 Health Communiqué to Action: Health and Climate – Heat Preparedness through Early Warning Systems

2022

The G7 event “From the G7 Health Communiqué to Action – Health and Climate: Heat Preparedness through Early Warning Systems” on 29 November 2022 recognized the importance of scaling up and enhancing Heat Health Warning Systems (HHWSs) and corresponding policy actions as key instruments for building resilience to climate variability and change in the health sector.   This report captures the expert discussions during the event on the state of implementation, opportunities, challenges and advances in protecting communities from increasing extreme heat. Its conclusions allow the G7 countries to learn from each other and share important lessons with the broader global community.   This report has been prepared by the WMO – WHO Joint Office for Climate and Health in close coordination with the German Federal Ministry of Health in the context of Germany’s G7 presidency and the health and climate event as part of the G7 Health Track. The report will serve as a contribution to the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN).   See also: Summary of G7 Heat Health Warning Systems and Action Plans – From the G7 Health Communiqué to Action: Health and Climate – Heat Preparedness through Early Warning Systems

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Reporting on Heatwaves and the Health Impacts of Heat

2023

Media representations of heatwaves and climate change plays an important role in how the public thinks about, perceives, prepares for and acts on risks to their health, and how decision and policy makers address the problem. This brief was developed by the Global Heat Health Information Network and partners to provide journalists, editors and others working in the media and communications sector with guidance and perspectives on how extreme heat and heat health narratives and imagery can help save lives and drive action.

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“Fan-First” Cooling – a low-carbon way to improve heat resilience in a changing climate

2023

Mitigating climate change is vital, but inevitable rising temperatures means that identifying sustainable cooling strategies is also important. Strategies at the individual scale that focus on cooling the person instead of the surrounding air can be effectively adopted, even in low-resource settings. This report presents the evidence behind “Fan-First” cooling as a low-carbon approach to improving heat resilience.

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