This CDC Tool Can Help You Track Heat Risks on Trips and in Your Area

Summer 2024 is off to a hot start, with a heatwave stifling much of the US this week. Whether you’re sticking around your neighborhood or you’re setting off for summer travel plans, it’s crucial to keep tabs on the weather to make sure you’re adequately prepared with proper hydration and access to necessities to keep cool.

Heat is the leading weather-related cause of death, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, although many of those deaths are preventable. When people are exposed to high temperatures for too long without resources to cool themselves, illnesses like heat exhaustion and heatstroke can set in. To help people get a handle on this public health issue, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has come out with the HeatRisk Dashboard, which is designed to give the public easier access to information on just how hot it will be in their area, the health risks that may be associated with the heat that day and steps to prevent heat-related illness. 

Here’s how to use it. Also, learn more about expert-approved foods that can help keep you hydrated and how to respond when someone near you is having heatstroke. 

How to find your neighborhood’s heat risk  

To use the HeatRisk Dashboard, enter your ZIP code where it says Get your local HeatRisk. Then, a scale of how serious the heat is will show up, ranging from “no risk” to “extreme.” Alongside the scale, the CDC has another box that puts the risk in perspective. For example, in my ZIP code on June 19, it says the heat risk today is “moderate,” and that it should be an “okay day” for being outside for most people, but people who are outside for long periods or those who are sensitive to heat could have health effects.

You’ll also see tips for staying safe indoors and outdoors in the heat, and reminders to check on pets and other people in your life, especially if they have a health condition that makes them more susceptible to heat or restricts their mobility. 

It also includes information on air quality. 

The consumer-friendly dashboard is part of a broader Heat and Health Tracker initiative by the CDC. If you pull this up, you’ll see a map of the US and the number of heat-related emergency medical visits per 100,000 total visits by region — a gauge for how serious the public health threat is. Scrolling down on this same page, you can also compare daily rates of emergency room visits.

The CDC says its HeatRisk data for its dashboard is a forecast developed in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service, and it takes into account things like humid air and community-level relationships with heat.

Read more: Power Grids Under Pressure: US Areas at Risk of Blackouts During the Summer 

Staying informed helps you prepare for and avoid health risks 

While it may be helpful for health centers and hospitals to look for a potential influx of patients needing emergency care as a result of the heat, having more information about heat and heat-related illnesses also may help people get a better handle on their individual risk. People with certain medical conditions, older adults and young children are among the most vulnerable to heat illness and should be given extra care and spend more time indoors or in cool areas during heat waves.

For more information on staying safe in the heat, check out these tips for wearing cooling clothes, how to keep your pets safe in high temperatures and how to manage your mental health during a heat wave.