Climate Current is a quarterly newsletter by CAPA to help practitioners stay up-to-date on the latest solutions-oriented climate news and research. We’ll be sharing:
- Research synthesis (practical implications)
- Technical resources (datasets, tools)
- Current opportunities (funding, collaboration, events)
- Success stories (climate wins & progress)
We welcome submissions! If you would like to submit climate wins or opportunities to be included in this newsletter, please contact us at
community@capastrategies.com.
Practitioner Spotlight
Multnomah County (OR) Heat Brief
The Multnomah County Health Department recently released a Seasonal Heat Hazard Brief examining conditions in the summer of 2024. This retrospective summary visualizes daily heat risk for the period of May through September, 2024 and explains heat illness pathways generally. Using local ESSENCE health data, the heat brief quantifies heat-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and fatalities. Content also addresses health impacts associated with submersion and drowning, lesser known outcomes of extreme heat. This approach offers a model for other jurisdictions to reflect on heat-health outcomes, inform the public of heat impacts, identify action strategies, and build relationships across departments.
Missoula Extreme Heat Toolkit
Climate Ready Missoula has developed an Extreme Heat Toolkit designed to help community partners prepare for and respond to dangerous heat events. The toolkit offers sector-specific strategies and resources for outreach and education, inclusive community engagement, emergency communications, and more. Explore the toolkit below and see how it can inform your community’s extreme heat preparedness.
CAPA Spotlight
Green Gentrification Mitigation Guide
Urban & Community Forestry Strategies for Thriving Places
Greening is an essential tactic to improve urban liveability and public health and reduce high temperatures. Trees and green space are commonly recommended for underserved, heat burdened communities. However, research shows that green amenities can spur green gentrification, marked by rising property values and costs, changing neighborhood character, and displacement of residents. This timely handbook provides accessible information for urban forestry practitioners that may help them to identify, plan for, and mitigate green gentrification. Readers can explore direct action strategies (e.g., selective greening, green jobs development, and community engagement) as well as strategies to advocate (e.g., inclusionary zoning and community land trusts) including benefits, limitations, and case study examples. Read the handbook at the link below.
Heat Watch Program Feedback Survey
Have you been part of a CAPA Heat Watch campaign? Whether you helped coordinate, mapped temperatures, worked with the data, or used the results in your community—we want to hear from you!
We’re collecting feedback to understand how the program has supported local resilience, what outcomes it has sparked, and how we can improve. Your input will help us refine Heat Watch to better serve communities, improve data usability, and support more effective local action.
Cooling Conversations Webinar Series
CAPA recently hosted a 4-part webinar series in July titled Cooling Conversations. We invited Federal scientists, local and regional staff from urban planning, public health and emergency management departments, and non-profit managers who covered critical dimensions for managing extreme heat.
7/10 - Measuring What Matters: Satellites, sensors, & social experiences of heat
7/17 - Beyond Heat Alerts - Effective engagement with hard-to-reach populations
7/24 - Decoding The Danger - Designing accessible platforms for heat management
7/31 - From Planning to Protection - Implementing heat resilient policies in your community
Follow the link below for links to recordings of the series and stay tuned for summaries of each session.
Current Opportunities
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants fund long-term solutions that reduce the impact of disasters. Search for funding by disaster type, including drought, extreme heat, fire, flood, hurricane, and severe storms.
Featured Publications
Barriers and Best Practices for Inclusive Emergency Alerts and Warnings
Villarreal, M. et al. (2025) [link]
Effective, accessible alerts are an essential tool during climate-related emergencies, whether a major heatwave, wildfire, flood, or other hazardous event. Historically, alerts have not consistently reached the most vulnerable communities, with notable challenges for those with limited English proficiency and auditory or visual disabilities. Based on a systematic review of scholarly literature and news articles, this study identifies common barriers, and provides actionable best practices that emergency managers, public health agencies, and community-based groups can use to improve the reach and impact of alerts during all kinds of emergencies.
Barriers to inclusive alerts
- Limited institutional capacity to distribute alerts
- Information not available in multiple languages, and/or translations are inaccurate
- Inaccessibility of channels and types of media used to distribute alerts
- Lack of trust in government agencies, especially among immigrant communities
- Lack of familiarity with US-based hazards, and/or cultural beliefs that affect how individuals respond to alerts
Best practices
- Provide staff from alerting agencies with training in cultural competency and how to communicate with diverse audiences
- Involve diverse community partners in alert dissemination, including multilingual individuals and entities that have community trust
- Distribute alerts through multiple channels
- Use plain language and visuals, and work with certified translators
- Tailor communications to diverse populations and communities, such as those with specific visual/auditory disabilities or cultural backgrounds
How Are Local Governments Planning for Heat Mitigation? A Study of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Jurisdictions
Chenne, W. & Doyon, A. (2025) [link]
Extreme heat is a growing concern in urban areas and beyond, though it is unclear how local governments are incorporating heat into their plans. This study assessed 243 heat mitigation plans and policies across 29 jurisdictions in British Columbia to determine how jurisdictions are responding. Results show that larger municipalities are more likely to have heat-related codes and diverse strategies for intervention. Environmental interventions – including trees, parks, and greenspaces – are the most common cooling prescriptions while many jurisdictions also aim to address heat through building features (shade, envelope efficiency). The systematic review used by the study authors may be replicated locally in other cities or regions, allowing planners to take stock of relevant heat-related goals, policies, and codes that could inform action strategies. The study also offers the following guidance for local governments:
- Leverage comprehensive plans for heat mitigation and adaptation, rather than relying only on climate adaptation and/or urban greening plans to advance a cooling agenda.
- Work across departments to elevate heat as a priority issue and enable collective action; limit siloed approaches to heat management.
- Tap into multi-level governance structures, integrating actions by local, state/regional, and national governments.
- Use direct community engagement in plan-making to spread awareness and mainstream the issue of heat management.
- Incorporate equity into heat management strategies to reduce urban temperatures, address heat-related impacts, and improve public health.
Wildfire Smoke: A Guide for Public Health Officials
In the midst of wildfire season, this 2019 EPA guide offers information for public health practitioners that is still relevant today.