TEMPE, Arizona — Arizona may be stuck in a cold streak, but following last year’s record-breaking heatwave, our state is now working on its first extreme heat preparedness plan.
The extreme heat preparedness plan is an initiative from the Governor’s Resiliency Office. And it is tapping into Arizona State University’s knowledge exchange for resilience for development. ASU said its role is to share knowledge and create solutions for all kinds of issues that help build a more resilient community, including heat resilience.
In August 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs issued an executive order to establish the interagency resiliency forum and set up a comprehensive heat preparedness and response plan.
ASU’s Executive Director of the Knowledge Exchange, Patricia Solis, said the plan will cross all of the state agencies and try to consolidate some of the activities. It's also set to improve how Arizona responds to extreme heat.
Solis said more can be done to improve the extreme heat response in our state.
“We need to do better," she said. "We need to improve our response. In the years to come, we expect this will not be the last time we will see such extreme temperatures. So getting ahead of the game, really being purposeful on how we can improve our preparedness."
Solis said extreme heat is increasing and intensifying in Arizona and they want to get ahead of the phenomenon by identifying the most vulnerable and at-risk in our community. She said there is more the state can do to prevent people from having those experiences.
In the Maricopa County Department of Public Health’s most recent weekly heat report from 2023, there were a total of 579 people who died because of the heat. That made the largest amount of heat-associated deaths in the county’s history. 56 more are still under investigation.
The plan is set for release on March 1.
Arizona State University wants your input on this plan. There’s still time for Arizonans to weigh in.
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