Biden announces plans to mitigate extreme heat across the country. Via CNN:
President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a whole-of-government approach to protecting communities and workers from what he called the “real crisis” of extreme heat amid a recent spate of high temperatures and 150 million Americans are under heat alerts.
“Part of the reason we’re here today is to get the word out so state and local governments know these resources are available and use them. I want the American people to know: Help is here and we’re going to make it available to anyone who needs it,” Biden said Thursday, calling on Americans to listen to public officials, stay indoors if vulnerable, know the signs of heat stroke, be careful on hot pavement, “always have a bottle of water” and take advantage of cooling centers.
Around 150 million people from coast to coast are under heat alerts Thursday after extreme heat expanded into the highly populated I-95 corridor, bringing the highest temperatures of the year there. The heat also won’t let up in the South and Southwest, where heat-related deaths are climbing, emergency rooms are filling with heat-related burn victims and even animals are falling victim to heat illness.
He referred people to Heat.gov for information about heat risks.
- Labor Secretary Julie Su will issue a “heat hazard alert” clarifying protections for workers, and intensify endorcement and inspections in construction and agriculture.
- The US Forest Service is awarding more than $1 billion in grants for the planting of trees that is aimed at helping to bring down temperatures in the long term.
- The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing “billions” to make buildings more efficient and more heat-resistant, as well as for the opening of cooling centers.
- The Department of Interior is using infrastructure funding to expand water storage capacity to deal with future droughts.
- NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is partnering with universities and impacted communities to improve the accuracy of the nation’s weather forecasts.
