Extreme Heat, Health, and Climate
Longer heat waves.
More destructive and deadlier storms and floods.
Increased pathogen spread.
The health impacts of climate change are here.
FAS began laying groundwork to make an impact in this area back in 2023 and 2024 – those efforts began to pay off with broader coalitions, more fruitful policy discussions, and even more innovative policy solutions surfacing in 2025.
But this year brought mounting challenges as well. Federal funding and staffing at the nexus of climate and health faced unprecedented cutbacks, and the ground-level effects of extreme heat didn’t let up either.
It was a year that demanded that FAS sharpen our policy thinking on the extreme heat crisis, while also bringing more voices into the discussion.
We began with a few key questions.
Where can we build or strengthen connections with others?
We made new friends...
… at the STAT Network, with whom, FAS supported the launch of their new report: “Protecting the Health of Americans in the Face of Extreme Weather: A Roadmap for Coordinated Action”.
… at the Midwest Climate Collaborative and Ten Across Network, where we facilitated impactful conversations around regional resilience to extreme heat, including “A Framework for a Heat-Ready Nation”
…at the National Institute of Building Sciences and National Association of State Energy Officials on our work on the energy x extreme heat nexus designing solutions for resilient cooling.
What can we produce to educate the public and policymakers?
We produced Too Hot Not to Handle, publishing a Resilient Cooling Policy and Strategy Toolkit
We produced plain-language fact sheets on the effects of extreme heat on labor, agriculture, rural residents, and children, as well as societal effects on wildfire smoke, healthcare, and energy costs.
We summarized summer in Summer, Wrapped, to document policy changes at the federal level and opportunities at the state and local level.
What actions could we take to make the most impact?
We launched our new Climate and Health program
We spoke at 12 webinars and events about our extreme heat work.
We tripled our reach to journalists, capped with national recognition for Grace Wickerson as a ‘Grist 50’ changemaker.
Grace Wickerson
Continued progress on the challenge of extreme heat is far from guaranteed as we look to 2026 and beyond. Protecting American health from extreme heat will require credible, nimble leadership, the capacity to connect hundreds of diverse organizations, and a deep understanding of the intersections among climate, health, science, and policy.
Our next step at FAS will be developing the 2026 State & Local Heat Policy Agenda, a blueprint designed to help communities and regions across the U.S. become better prepared for this intensifying challenge.
This roadmap, developed in close partnership with experts, advocates, and civic leaders, will align the growing heat community around a shared set of objectives, and equip state and local decision-makers with the strategies they can deploy today to be “heat-ready” tomorrow.