As summer approaches, public health and climate experts remind residents to take precautions against heat-related illnesses, especially as forecasts point to a warmer-than-average summer, reports WLOS-TV in Asheville. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services uses a Heat Health Alert System developed with Duke's Heat Policy Innovation Hub to issue alerts when heat is forecast to reach unhealthy levels for a particular area.

The National Weather Service has warned people under extreme heat warnings in three Western U.S. states to avoid consuming alcohol or caffeinated drinks as they can accelerate dehydration. "When it's dangerously hot, the safest bet is to stick with water or electrolyte beverages, take breaks in the shade or AC, and avoid strenuous activities during the hottest parts of the day," Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub, told Newsweek.

In a news release from his office, Gov. Josh Stein brought attention to key programs that keep North Carolinians safe from extreme heat. One of the programs Stein recognized was the Heat Action Plan Toolkit developed last year in collaboration with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina State Climate Office and Duke's Heat Policy Innovation Hub.

Master of Divinity graduate Maggie Mejia '25 credits Community Engagement and Outreach Associate Michelle Lewis's Caring for Creation as a particularly impactful course during her studies: "[The class] inspired me to modify my approach to creation care and take tangible steps such as reducing my carbon footprint and reducing food waste as acts of worship and resistance to overconsumption," she wrote in a year-end review post for Duke Divinity School.

At a March 27 gathering in Goodson Chapel, faith leaders and organizers came together to discuss initiatives being employed by houses of worship as they become hubs of climate resilience, writes the Duke Research Blog. The conversation was part of Duke University's Cooling Communities project, which is advancing community-driven solutions to extreme heat.

In talking about climate change at just about every level a person can, Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub, prioritizes meeting people where they are and focusing on common ground and solutions. “I think you have to help people envision a different future that is positive,” she told Duke Today. Ward and other Duke scholars were profiled for their work on humanizing and localizing the enormity of climate change for people of all backgrounds.

Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub, spoke at a recent Appalachian State University forum about the urgent need for climate resilience alongside former FEMA Administrator Brock Long. The discussion highlighted strategies for communities to adapt and recover from climate-related impacts, recapped by The Watauga Democrat.

To help communities in North Carolina and beyond prepare for a hotter future, Duke’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub will create an interactive tool to assess heat risks in rural and coastal communities and offer officials solutions that fit their local needs and requirements. "What we're finding as we conduct more research is rural and coastal areas to some degree are disproportionately more impacted by extreme heat events," hub director Ashley Ward told the Wilmington Star-News.

Long and Ward, two nationally recognized experts in climate resilience and emergency management, will discuss actionable solutions to help communities prepare for and recover from climate-related disasters. The event will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25, as part of Appalachian State University’s Pathways to Resilience initiative.

Leading heat experts met in Geneva in December as part of an international effort to develop a coordinated common framework for heat risk governance, a critical step toward strengthening global resilience to extreme heat. The consultation was part of a broader initiative co-led by Duke University’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub alongside other international partners.

The Duke Heat Policy Innovation Hub will spend the next two years developing an interactive, web-based tool to help policymakers plan for extreme heat, especially in rural and coastal communities. “We have been so focused, and for good reason, on the health impacts of heat,” but heat’s impact on the economy is “going to have much bigger consequences than we’ve appreciated so far,” hub director Ashley Ward told Coastal Review.

Duke's Heat Policy Innovation Hub will receive $500,000 in federal funding to advance heat action through a two-year project. The hub will partner with the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) to map district-level heat impacts across sectors, inform heat policies, assess heat risks in rural and coastal communities and facilitate private sector collaboration on heat.

World leaders gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP29—and Duke University experts and students were on the scene.

Several Duke experts are attending COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, to share insights, advance collaborative initiatives and network. They are accompanied by 17 students who are getting an up-close view of how international climate policy moves forward.

The Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University convened more than 100 researchers, policymakers and corporate and community leaders in June to identify ways to make communities more heat resilient. A new Nicholas Institute report captures insights shared during conversations around three core themes at the inaugural HeatWise Policy Partnership Summit