C L I M AT E
A N D
E Q U I T Y I N
A C T I O N
H U N T E R J O N E S , N I H H I S
P R O G R A M M A N G E R
N O A A R E S E A R C H

H E A T I S L A N D S A N D E Q U I T Y – N Y C C A S E
Afternoon Air Temperatures from NIHHIS Citizen Science Mapping Disadvantaged Census Tracts from White House CJEST Tool
National Integrated Heat Health Information System
NOAA Research

N O A A
C L I M AT E
E Q U I T Y
P I L O T S
In 2022 NOAA convened
community stakeholders to
understand the disproportionate
impacts of climate hazards.
Based on feedback from
communities, climate equity pilot
projects were launched in every
NOAA region to explore how we
can provide more equitable services
for more equitable outcomes.
NOAA Research

N I H H I S ( I N T R A - ) U R B A N H E A T I S L A N D M A P P I N G
Community/Citizen
Science centers
understanding and action
on populations that are
at-risk and promotes
solutions that work.
Campaigns make heat
visible, improving risk
perception,
understanding, and
awareness among
volunteers and beyond.
Outcomes inform heat
action planning,
educational curricula,
and heat mitigation such
as tree planning and cool
surfaces.
Exposure to heat can
vary by 20F across a city,
with disadvantaged
communities often
bearing the greatest
burden.
National Integrated Heat Health Information System
NOAA Research
Citizen Scientists in Freetown, Sierra Leone Mobile Transects in New York, NY Heat Equity Mapper from Heat.gov

H E A T
T A B L E T O P
E X E R C I S E S
• Heat Action Plans are sometimes
developed without at-risk
community engagement.
Communities often haven’t stress
tested their plans.
• NOAA Regional Coordination
Teams, Climate Service Directors &
NIHHIS are piloting heat tabletop
exercises in:
• Las Vegas, NV
• Phoenix, AZ
• Charleston, SC
• Miami, FL
• The tabletops span timescales
including resilience; they are planned
with community-based organizations
that serve at-risk groups.
National Integrated Heat Health Information System NOAA Research

L E S S O N S
L E A R N E D
Understanding and addressing discrepancies in equitable climate resilience
requires a long-term investment of time to build relationships and trust.
• Working with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) is helpful.
Citizen scientist time is valuable; they should be compensated for it. CBOs
may not have grants management staff like government and universities.
• We need new models of engagement and funding to facilitate better engagement.
Climate and equity challenges can be deep-seated and often structural. No
one entity has the full mission and mandate to address them comprehensively.
• We need models that incentivize working across agencies, sectors, industries.
Everybody has a role to play, at every step in the process – leverage what you
control to make a difference.
• We are improving equity through funding and project priorities (Justice40, America the Beautiful),
internships/scholarships, outreach, performance plans, etc…
National Integrated Heat Health Information System NOAA Research
Volunteers in Charleston, SC learning about heat. Credit: Merrie Koester