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Strategies to combat the risks of extreme heat

Extreme heat events are becoming more common place and can affect your employees and organization in a variety of ways.

Published on July 1, 2024

Methods to protect your employes include educating them on the effects of extreme heat in their work environment, knowing the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke:

  • Extremely high body temperature (above 103 degrees Fahrenheit)
  • Red, hot and dry skin
  • Lack of sweating
  • Dizziness, confusion or unconsciousness

    • A urine color chart and hydration guide should be posted. Provide employees with proper clothing depending on the work environment and implement work-rest cycles. Consider using monitoring devices to ensure employees are not working in extreme conditions and have pre-established stop points if temperature extremes are exceeded. Download smartphone weather apps.

    A plan should be in place in the event someone experiences a heat related medical emergency. At risk populations should be identified and carefully monitored for adverse reactions to heat. This includes:

  • Young children and infants, who are particularly vulnerable to heat-related illness and death, as their bodies are less able to adapt to heat than are adults.
  • Older adults, particularly those with preexisting diseases, take certain medications, are living alone or with limited mobility who are exposed to extreme heat can experience multiple adverse effects.
  • People with chronic medical conditions are more likely to have a serious health problem during a heat wave than healthy people.
  • Pregnant women are also at higher risk.

    Prepare your staff and make sure personnel have a family emergency plan, and that your organization has resources to assist them.

    Infrastructure also takes a beating in extreme heat and can affect the electrical grid causing lengthy power outages, which may affect businesses that require extensive cooling systems for data centers and factory operations. Additionally, long term outages may surpass the battery lifespan of UPS systems and medical equipment.

    Organizations should assess their climate risks and vulnerabilities. If you are considered critical infrastructure or a key resource to the community, you should ensure that the utility company has your facility on a priority list to power up during outages. You should plan for longer-term items and invest in resilient upgrades where possible. Have a plan for supply chain disruptions, which include maintaining a backup of essential equipment and replacement parts as well as the establishing relationships with alternative suppliers.

    Source: Ready.gov

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