Confronting climate change heat-health risks in the Pacific Northwest

Photo: Gilbert W. Arias/Seattle Post-Intelligencer / SL

Climate change is projected to have serious and long-term consequences for public health. One of the more important and measurable impacts is an increase in extreme heat events, particularly in moderate climates. Researchers at the University of Washington have already investigated and reported the heat-health outcomes of climate change in three Pacific Northwest counties. Now, their research continues with the overall objective to evaluate two tools: health outcomes projection modeling and heat-risk mapping. These tools have the potential to be quite useful in informing the public health discussion of, and preparation for, climate change-related extreme heat events. Using this research, local health departments may opt to focus on reducing the factors that contribute to climate change (mitigation), on reducing the severity of health impacts (adaptation), or a combination of the two.