Extreme Heat

Explore what you can do to prepare for and protect your self, family, business and employees from extreme heat.

Heat Wave Safety Tips for Business

Tip 1: Gradually increase the time spent in hot environmental conditions over a 7-14 day period.

Tip 2: For new workers, the schedule should be no more that 20% exposure to heat on day 1 and an increase of no more than 20% exposure on each additional day.

Tip 3: For workers who have had previous experience with the job, the acclamation schedule should be no more than:

1.  Day 1: 50% exposure
2. Day 2: 60% exposure
3. Day 3: 80% exposure
4. Day 4: 100% exposure

Tips 4: Set up a buddy system. Check your workers routinely to make sure...

1. They make use of readily available water and shade.
2. They don't have heat-related symptoms

Tip 5: Encourage workers to drink plenty of fluids...

• ...such as drink small amounts of water before becoming thirsty.
• During moderate activity in moderately hot conditions, workers should drink about 1 cup every 15-20 minutes.

For more information on keeping your employees safe during the summer months please follow these
links. Occupational Heat Exposure, Protecting Workers From Heat Stress, Protecting Workers from
Heat Illness.

Extreme Heat Resilience Resources

Effective mitigation of the risks of extreme heat requires a multi-disciplinary response, shared across multiple agencies. Here are some resources for emergency managers, planners, and public health officials that can help educate the public, locate at-risk populations, and inform public health actions:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a heat guide and warning signs and symptoms of heat-related illness in a single convenient graphic with accessible plain text, to help increase public awareness about the health risks.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) just updated its Heat Illness Prevention page with educational materials for employers and workers.
• The CDC just updated its Heat & Health Tracker, which now includes daily heat illness data. Users can track and download daily cases of heat-related illness across the country. This information can help communities better prepare for and respond to extreme heat events.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is currently mapping heat inequities in 14 U.S. cities and counties. Cities with Urban Heat Islands mapped by NOAA are available on NOAA’s National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) website.