Heat kills more than almost any disaster — so why can’t we define it?
The absence of an operational, locally calibrated definition isn’t a technical gap. It’s a governance failure with a body count.
Extreme Heat
WMO
Extreme Heat
Defining heat where you live — a framework for localised heat indices
A heat index built for Finland will not save a life in coastal Pakistan. Until localisation becomes a standardised process rather than a one-off analytical exercise, every heat action plan is guesswork wearing the costume of science.
Extreme Heat
Working with what you have – a practical protocol for building a local heatwave threshold when the data are incomplete
Most of the world doesn’t have perfect data records either. Waiting for perfect records before acting on heat isn’t caution — it’s a justification for doing nothing while people keep dying.