This story was originally published by High Country News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
This summer, Phoenix, Arizona, became the first city in the country to publicly fund an office dedicated to tackling the issue of extreme heat. It’s part of a growing awareness among government officials that heat’s dangers need to be dealt with more strategically as the world grows warmer. In Phoenix, the nation’s third-fastest-warming city, the number of heat-related deaths has continued to climb. Now, David Hondula, an associate professor and researcher at Arizona State University, will lead the city’s heat strategy as director of the newly formed Office of Heat Response and Mitigation.
Hondula is optimistic that the new office can reduce the number of heat-related deaths and help create a city that i... Read more
