Federal officials on Monday unveiled a set of tools aimed at helping protect people in the United States from the dangers of extreme heat. The resources, developed jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include new color-coded heat forecasts and a public dashboard showing local heat risks and air quality levels.
officials said they hope the new resources will help communities plan for the upcoming summer months. The agency has said it expects temperatures for much of the U.S. in May and June to be above average, ahead of what is expected to be another hot summer across the country. “When it comes to heat, it’s never too early to prepare,”
's HeatRisk tool, the scale ranges from 0 or green, meaning little or no risk from expected heat, to 4 or magenta, which indicates extreme and/or long-duration heat-related impacts. The risk levels account for the projected high and low temperatures, and factor in the cumulative impacts of heat over daytime and nighttime conditions, according to