Policy Solution
Heat hotlines
Awareness and Engagement
Overview:
Summary: Heat hotines are telephone helplines that can provide information during a heat wave to members of the public. Hotline operators can share information on how to access cooling resources like cooling centers, identify symptoms of heat-related illness in real-time, and connect users with emergency services as necessary. Heat hotlines can prevent heat-related illness and death by connecting users with resources.
Implementation: Establish a telephone hotline to provide real-time advice to members of the public on extreme heat and resources for cooling.
Considerations for Use: Depending on climate, hotlines can be active year-round or at select high-risk times of year (e.g. seasonally or during a heat wave).
- Policy Levers:
Awareness and EngagementGovernments may design and operate programs with the goal of increasing awareness and engagement among constituents or stakeholder groups about the risks and opportunities of extreme heat. - Trigger Points:
No-regrets actions (low cost/low effort but substantial benefit)Interventions that are relatively low-cost and low effort (in terms of requisite dependencies) but have substantial environmental and/or social benefits. - Intervention Type:
Communications/Outreach - Sectors:
Disaster Risk Management , Informal Settlements, Public Health
- Target Beneficiaries:
Heat-vulnerable communities, Residents - Phase of Impact:
Emergency response and management - Metrics:
Number of calls received
Impact:
- Philadelphia Corporation for Aging's Senior Line
Case Studies:
Implementation:
- Intervention Scale:
City, State/Province - Authority and Governance:
City government, State/provincial government - Implementation Timeline:
Short-term (1-2 Years) - Implementation Stakeholders:
CBOs, City government - Funding Sources:
Grants and philanthropy, Public investment - Capacity to Act:
High, Medium
- Cost-Benefit:
Low - Public Good:
High - GHG Reduction:
N/A - Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):
Provide flood protection - Co-benefits (Social):
Build social cohesion, Improve human health