By Kelly McCarthy and Zack Valdez
Community leaders and scientists from two U.S. cities are combining public health data and heat maps to prepare residents for climate change–related health risks.
As the global community celebrates World Health Day on 7 April, at AGU we want to highlight projects in two U.S. cities striving to make climate-related health information accessible at a local scale. Confronted with increased health risks to humans resulting from climate change, leaders within these communities are developing tools at the grassroots level to inform city planning, address needs for services, and identify areas for green infrastructure and cooling interventions.
Like many health threats, climate change is expected to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, young children, families living in poverty, and people with chronic diseases. From small rural cities to densely populated metropolitan centers, communities are developing resiliency efforts to ameliorate these escalating threats and inform local decision-makers.
