CDC Releases Latest Heat and Health Tool: Heat and Health Index
The CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), alongside other health agencies, have introduced the Heat and Health Index (HHI). This tool integrates historic temperature data, EMS data on heat-related emergencies, and community-specific characteristics to rank ZIP codes by heat risk.
By offering data-driven insights, the HHI empowers public health officials, city planners, and policymakers to identify and prioritize areas at high risk. This enables targeted actions such as opening cooling centers, planning for increased healthcare demands, and implementing heat mitigation strategies like enhancing tree canopy cover. The HHI complements existing tools to bolster community resilience against heat-related health impacts.