U.S. flag An official website of the United States government.
Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

i

An international assessment of heat action plans



Details

  • Journal Title:
    npj Climate Action
  • Personal Author:
    Sobhaninia, Saeideh ; Meerow, Sara ; Keith, Ladd ; Ryan, Alekzander ; Bouschor, Aaron
  • NOAA Program & Office:
    CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences)
  • Description:
    Extreme heat events are rising significantly, posing a growing threat to public health in cities worldwide. Heat Action Plans (HAPs) have emerged as a critical tool for cities to proactively prepare for, manage, and mitigate the impacts of extreme heat. This study offers the most comprehensive international assessment of HAPs to date. We analyze the content of local government HAPs worldwide and validate the findings with academic and practice-oriented guidance. We find that cities focus more on heat management strategies than heat mitigation, with emergency preparedness and heat education far outpacing urban greening or waste-heat-reduction measures. Our analysis also reveals heat governance as a third, and previously underemphasized, area of heat action, encompassing: research; planning, policy, and program development; leadership; funding; and community engagement. This study provides a robust evidence base to inform the next generation of HAPs and equips practitioners with actionable insights to refine and strengthen their design, implementation, and evaluation.
  • Source:
    npj Climate Action (2026)
  • DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-026-00416-9
  • ISSN:
    2731-9814
  • Format:
    pdf
  • Publisher:
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • License:
    https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
  • Rights Information:
    CC BY-NC-ND
  • Compliance:
    Library
  • Download URL:
    https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/76185/noaa_76185_DS1.pdf
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 2.07 MB]
  • Collection(s):
    NOAA Cooperative Institutes
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:3c470440813bc395991eb19e42cfb4b6ddcccd2c0b6fe820c3eed9792af697b6f4ae3bc86ab9459cca34c108c728368951c5c516b692ca1d04931276ee773081
PREVIOUS
ON THIS PAGE
Details
 Found an issue?
Send us an email at:
noaa.repository@noaa.gov
The NOAA IR serves as an archival repository of NOAA-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by NOAA or funded partners. As a repository, the NOAA IR retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
BACK TO TOP