CDC and NOAA partner to help workers stay safe in the heat

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a Heat and Health Initiative to help protect workers from dangerous conditions.

The initiative has three resources: the HeatRisk Forecast Tool, the HeatRisk Dashboard and newly developed clinical guidance.

The HeatRisk Forecast Tool, developed in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, features a seven-day national heat forecast to alert workers to potentially harmful conditions.

The HeatRisk Dashboard integrates the forecast tool with other data, including on local air quality, to inform workers on how best to protect themselves when outdoor temperatures are high and could impact their health.

The clinical guidance is designed to give medical professionals insights that can help keep at-risk individuals safe when heat and air quality reach dangerous levels.

Combined, the resources “give proactive actions people can take to protect themselves: stay cool, stay hydrated (and) know the symptoms.”

More than two-thirds of people in the United States lived in areas where heat alerts were issued last year, CDC says, adding that heat events are become more common and severe.

“Heat can impact our health, but heat-related illness and death are preventable,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a press release. “We are releasing new heat and health tools and guidance to help people take simple steps to stay safe in the heat.”