News - Extreme Heat

Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at the Nicholas Institute, joins 97.9 The Hill’s "News on the Hill" to provide updates from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28). Ward is part of a small delegation of Duke experts and students attending the conference, which takes place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.

Ashley Ward joins 97.9 The Hill’s "News on the Hill" program every other Thursday to comment on the latest climate news.

A small delegation of Duke experts and students will attend this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The group includes Nicholas Institute experts Jackson Ewing and Ashley Ward, who both spoke to Duke Today about the conference.

Ashley Ward, director of the Nicholas Institute's Heat Policy Innovation Hub, joined the Green Docs podcast to talk about why staying cool is a year-round job.  

The new Office of Climate and Sustainability brings together several of Duke University's climate, energy, and environmental assets—including the Nicholas Institute—to help advance the mission of the Duke Climate Commitment.

During Climate Week NYC, the Nicholas Institute, in partnership with Duke’s Office of Climate and Sustainability, organized a panel discussion that sought to expand the conversation about the impacts of extreme heat “not just on lives, but on livelihoods.” At the event, experts discussed how innovations in the financial and insurance sectors, along with partnerships with philanthropy, can help communities plan, prepare for and mitigate this growing challenge. 

The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island will be a laboratory for universities, corporations and public interest groups to develop solutions to the global climate crisis through education, research, workforce training, and community programs. During Climate Week NYC, several Duke experts explored Governors Island as part of a tour offered by the Exchange, Duke Today reports.

A growing body of research shows that people of color and people living below poverty levels are stuck in heat islands, much more so than their white and wealthier counterparts, reports Nature. “We have a lot of great research that we need to mobilize into feasible and effective policy solutions,” said Ashley Ward, director of the Nicholas Institute's Heat Policy Innovation Hub.

“There is a perfect storm of ingredients that make rural heat risk something that is not only important for us to think about, talk about, and understand better—but also very difficult to mitigate," Ashley Ward, director of the Nicholas Institute's Heat Policy Innovation Hub, told the Rural Health Information Hub. Ward spoke extensively about the health effects of extreme heat on rural populations and interventions to help keep people safe.

Staying hydrated—and knowing how best to do it—is more important than ever. This summer’s excessive heat isn't just a hot spell, but rather a taste of what we can expect from climate change, Ashley Ward, director of the Nicholas Institute's Heat Policy Innovation Hub, told National Geographic. “This is not your grandmother's heat,” Ward said.