Biden-Harris Administration Announces Extreme Heat Summit Series to Advance Nationwide Climate Resilience Goals

WASHINGTON -- In advance of the summer and underscoring the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on community resilience to address climate change, FEMA will host a virtual and in-person Extreme Heat Summit series focused on understanding extreme heat impacts and defining actionable ways to combat and prepare for these increasing risks across the country. Well ahead of the start to summer, January through March 2024 clocked in as the fifth-warmest start to a year in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 130-year climate record. NOAA predicts odds for above-normal temperatures across the midwestern, western and southern lower 48 states during the summer 2024 season.

In honor of Earth Month, the two-part series kicks off with a virtual summit on April 26, 2024, featuring remarks from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and roundtable discussions examining federal, state and local initiatives to combat extreme heat risks. Speakers include representatives from the U.S. Fire Administration, the National Park Service, Occupational Health and Safety and the Department of Health & Human Services.

“Extreme heat is becoming a more aggressive threat to well-being across the country,” said Administrator Criswell. “We want to arm our emergency responders—and communities across America—with the health and safety information needed to stay healthy when the temperatures soar. Just this week, we saw temperatures in the 80s and 90s over larger parts of the country. The time to be summer ready is now.”

FEMA’s Extreme Heat Series concludes with an in-person summit hosted in Chicago on May 21, 2024. Building on the lessons learned from FEMA’s 2023 Extreme Heat Summit, this engagement is open to government leaders and resilience focused private sector, nonprofit and academic organizations. FEMA will offer opportunities for discussion, networking and cross-collaboration between all levels of government and community partners. Presentations and panel discussions will be led by subject matter experts, local emergency managers and climate resilience practitioners. Speakers will focus on raising awareness of the increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events, highlighting mitigation best practices across the country, and discussing ways of communicating extreme heat risks and implications to communities and stakeholders.

Attendance to the virtual and in-person extreme heat summits are open to the public. Register for the April 26 virtual summit at #SummerReady Extreme Heat Summit | FEMA.gov and register for the May 21 in-person Chicago summit at cvent.me/Z8lAk3.

For questions or additional information about the Extreme Heat Summit series, please contact FEMA-extreme-heat-summit@fema.dhs.gov.

To learn more about extreme heat preparedness, visit FEMA’s Ready.gov.