The extreme heat risk governance challenge

As extreme heat events increase in frequency, intensity, and duration, they present a complex challenge to national, subnational, and municipal administrations. Extreme heat negatively affects human health and ecosystems, impacting critical infrastructure, agriculture, and labour productivity.

Managing this risk requires a coordinated, cross-sectoral response to address cascading impacts across different sectors and timescales. Ambiguity over accountability remains a major barrier to effective planning.

Understanding extreme heat

The year 2024 was recorded as the hottest year globally, with each of the past 10 years (2015–2024) ranking among the hottest on record. Rising temperatures lead to severe localised stress. Heat is described as the transfer of energy between objects, often measured through environmental or human heat-balance models.

Urban areas experience localised amplification known as the urban heat island effect. Both acute heatwaves and chronic persistent heat pose serious risks to human health and systems.

Understanding extreme heat risk governance

Governance brings together actors, institutions, and assets across timescales to guide heat risk reduction, policy, and investment. This spans short-term emergency response to long-term adaptation. Effective governance turns risk information into equitable and resilient action.

It requires establishing capacity within formal mechanisms to distribute responsibilities across health, energy, planning, and disaster risk agencies. Core principles help mobilise diverse institutions to implement sustained action.

How to use the toolkit

The toolkit provides actionable guidance for governments and partners to prevent and manage extreme heat impacts. It is designed to offer practical options and resources to strengthen governance at regional, subnational, and urban scales.

The toolkit assists actors in navigating complex governance challenges by structuring approaches into clear, sequential tools.

Tool 1: Assess the maturity of your extreme heat risk governance

The assessment tool helps governments evaluate their current approach to extreme heat resilience. It provides a straightforward method to diagnose current situations and identify areas for improvement.

Based on established models, this streamlined self-assessment allows decision-makers to identify structural strengths and gaps before planning interventions.

Tool 2: Operationalise extreme heat risk governance

Operationalising governance relies on a four-part cycle of demand, planning, action, and learning. Governance mechanisms must be cross-sectoral, multi-level, and transdisciplinary.

It is recommended to leverage public-private partnerships to enhance implementation by utilising private sector expertise and resources. Establishing rapid evaluation processes reduces costs and provides effective feedback to improve subsequent actions.

Tool 3: Plan for heat action

While extreme heat planning is vital for climate and public health strategies, dedicated Heat Action Plans (HAPs) specifically address risk drivers. HAPs prevent and mitigate impacts across national, regional, and local levels.

A structured yet adaptable blueprint is recommended to integrate governance and implementation across sectors. For example, local initiatives in cities such as Cairo and Alexandria focus on addressing urban heat islands through increased green spaces and improved urban planning. Furthermore, heat resilience measures are currently being implemented for 11% of India’s urban population in some of its most at-risk cities.