Ladd Keith, Ph.D.

Blog

  • Joining the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) Management Committee

    Joining the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) Management Committee

    Excited to share I have accepted an invitation from the World Meteorological Organization to serve as a core member of the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN)‘s Management Committee! GHHIN’s mission is to build global capacity to protect populations from the avoidable health risks of extreme heat conditions. I look forward to working with and learning from the other committee members, staff, and broader GHHIN network to help address extreme heat and better protect health in communities across the world.

    GHHIN’ pillars support coordinated information and action to reduce the impact of heat on health worldwide.

    Learn more about GHHIN and visit their online resource library at ghhin.org.

  • Planning for Extreme Heat: A National Survey of U.S. Planners

    Planning for Extreme Heat: A National Survey of U.S. Planners

    Excited to share my latest co-authored paper with Sara Meerow, Planning for Extreme Heat: A National Survey of U.S. Planners, published in the Journal of the American Planning Association. In this paper, we discuss heat planning efforts, including heat mitigation and heat management, and share results from a survey of U.S. planners on extreme heat. We explore heat risk perceptions, impacts, strategies, plans, information needs, and barriers.

    Abstract

    Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard in the United States. Climate change and the urban heat island effect are increasing the number of dangerously hot days in cities worldwide and the need for communities to plan for extreme heat. Existing literature on heat planning focuses on heat island mapping and modeling, whereas few studies delve into heat planning and governance processes. We surveyed planning professionals from diverse cities across the United States to establish critical baseline information for a growing area of planning practice and scholarship that future research can build on. Survey results show that planners are concerned with extreme heat risks, particularly environmental and public health impacts from climate change. Planners already report impacts from extreme heat, particularly to energy and water use, vegetation and wildlife, public health, and quality of life. Especially in affected communities, planners claim they address heat in plans and implement heat mitigation and management strategies such as urban forestry, emergency response, and weatherization, but perceive many barriers related to human and financial resources and political will.

    The paper is online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2021.1977682

  • NBC LX interview on Chief Heat Officers

    NBC LX interview on Chief Heat Officers

    I spoke with NBC LX host Jobeth Devera on the creation of Los Angeles’s Chief Heat Officer position, approved by the city mayor and council earlier in November. Los Angeles is now the third city in the U.S. to create such a position in 2021, following Miami-Dade County appointing its Chief Heat Officer in the spring, and the City of Phoenix’s creation of its Office of Heat Mitigation and Response this summer. We also discussed why heat governance is underdeveloped compared to other climate risks, what the role of the Chief Heat Officer is all about, and what communities can do to better address extreme heat.

    Watch the full interview on the NBC LX site.

  • Nature: Deploy heat officers, policies and metrics

    I am thrilled to have a new Comment piece on heat governance, Deploy heat officers, policies and metrics, published in Nature with coauthors Sara Meerow, David M. Hondula, V. Kelly Turner, and James C. Arnott.

    “Heat is an outlier hazard — invisible, frequently chronic and subtly pervasive. Unlike for flooding or wildfire, no single organization or department is responsible for coordinating responses for extreme heat.”

    In the piece, we call for researchers and decision-makers to:

    • Advance heat equity that address systematic racial and income disparities,
    • Mitigate heat in the built environment,
    • Manage both chronic and acute heat risk,
    • Coordinate local initiatives and integrate planning efforts,
    • Develop and use consistent metrics to measure progress, and
    • Build national institutions to support local efforts.

    More information:

  • Extreme Heat at Outdoor COVID-19 Sites

    Extreme Heat at Outdoor COVID-19 Sites

    Final paper of my Extreme Heat at Outdoor COVID-19 Vaccination Sites research with Nicole Iroz-Elardo, Erika Austhof, Ida Sami, and Mona Arora is now available! The project began by invitation from the site operators who were very responsive in using the recommendations. It was an honor to work on this project with my colleagues to help increase the safety of the dedicated volunteers and workers involved in the early vaccination efforts.

    Abstract

    Extreme heat is an increasing climate risk due to climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect and can jeopardize points of dispensing (PODs) for COVID-19 vaccination distribution and broader public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) response operations. These PODs were often located on large parking lot sites with high heat severity and did not take heat mitigation or management strategies into account for unacclimated workers and volunteers. To investigate the personal heat exposure of workers, volunteers, and clients at three PODs in Tucson, Arizona, we collected ambient air temperatures, wet bulb globe temperatures (WBGT), surface temperatures, and thermal images. We also made qualitative observations and compared data against daily meteorological records. Ambient air temperatures at all three PODs exceeded the meteorological recorded high. WBGT on average were 8°F (4.4 °C) higher in full sun locations than shaded locations such as tents. Evaporative cooling decreased ambient air temperatures by 2°F (1.2 °C) when placed one per tent, but decreased ambient air temperatures by 7°F (3.9 °C) when placed en masse in a larger tent. Vehicle surface temperatures exceeded recommended safe limits of 140°F (60 °C) at all three sites, with a maximum temperature recorded at 170.9°F (77.2 °C). Public health professionals should consider heat resilience, including heat mitigation and management measures, in POD and PHEP response operations to reduce exposure. This includes considering the UHI effect in the siting of PODs, applying heat mitigation strategies in the design of PODs such as the adaptive use of solar panels for shading, and improving heat safety guidance for workers and volunteers.

    Full open-access paper is online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278221000407