Empowering Local Leaders to Act on Heat Risk

 

Extreme heat is now the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States – and its impact is growing rapidly. Our Community Heat-Health Decision Platform gives local leaders the data and tools they need to address rising temperatures through actionable strategies that save lives and safeguard community health.

 

This cloud-based platform combines our proprietary Heat-Health Risk Index with hyperlocal data to help counties, cities, school systems, and emergency planners anticipate, prepare for, and respond to extreme heat events with speed and precision.

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What the Platform Delivers

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• Hyperlocal Heat-Health Risk Scores

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Visualize heat risk down to the census tract, ZIP code, or neighborhood level—combining temperature forecasts with social vulnerability and health sensitivity indicators.

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• Decision-Ready Tools

 

Pinpoint locations for cooling centers, adjust public communications and school or athletic schedules, and prioritize resources for the most at-risk areas.

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• Customizable, Real-Time Views

 

Overlay key infrastructure (e.g., school buildings, hospitals, libraries, etc.), demographics, and dynamic forecasts to guide planning and response.

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• Community-Focused Planning

 

Ensure decisions are both effective and fair by factoring in housing, mobility, chronic conditions, and population-specific risks. 

 

The Platform supports efforts such as:

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• Identifying high-risk zones for cooling center placement

• Advising schools and athletic programs on outdoor activity safety

• Prioritizing EMS and public safety resources during heat advisories

 

A Smarter, Healthier Response to Heat

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With the Community Heat-Health Decision Platform, extreme heat response doesn’t have to be reactive or one-size-fits-all. Local governments, public health departments, school systems, community leaders, emergency managers, and the general public can use the platform to plan ahead, reduce preventable illness, and protect their residents.

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Whether it’s opening the right cooling center at the right time, adjusting public messaging, adapting practice schedules to minimize exposure to extreme heat, or tracking risk trends across the summer, the Platform provides visibility into complex heat-health data to support effective response.

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Why It Matters 

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Each summer, thousands of Americans are hospitalized—or worse—because of preventable heat-related illness. Many of these outcomes occur not because there’s no warning, but because it’s unclear where and how to respond.

 

Our platform closes that gap—translating heat risk into actionable local insight for those on the front lines of health, emergency response, and community resilience.

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How It Works

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At the heart of the Platform is HSR.health’s proprietary Heat-Health Risk Index, which combines:

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• Temperature & weather data

• Urban characteristics (such as tree cover, building density, and impervious surfaces)

• Social and demographic data (including income, employment, age, race, housing quality, chronic illness prevalence, and more)

 

By integrating these factors, the platform identifies not just where it’s hot—but where people are most at risk from heat exposure. This allows communities to proactively mitigate health threats before they escalate into crises.

 

The result is a powerful, intuitive platform that reveals not just where it’s hottest, but where heat poses the greatest health threat, and how to act accordingly. 

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Real-World Applications 

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The Heat-Health Risk Index was piloted in northern Manhattan, New York City, with funding from the from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) initiative, and demonstrated its ability to:

 

• Identify high-risk populations and neighborhoods.

• Support the strategic placement of cooling centers to ensure access within walking distance for vulnerable residents.

• Predict increased hospitalizations during extreme heat events, enabling hospitals to prepare for surges in demand.

• Highlight the risks associated with specific building types, such as tall residential buildings, where upper floors face higher heat exposure.

 

Broome County, NY is currently evaluating the Community Heat-Health Decision Platform to enhance summer preparedness and heat-related health response. ​​

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