Heat Vulnerability Index

Everyone is at risk for heat-related illness, but some people are at greater risk than others based on individual, environmental, or community characteristics. As summertime temperatures continue to increase in New York due to climate change, addressing vulnerability and building resilience to heat is a priority. Exposure to hot weather can cause heat-related illness, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat rash, or heat stroke, and death. High temperatures can also worsen existing health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and kidney disease.

Heat Vulnerability Index

The NYS Department of Health created the Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) for New York State outside of New York City to help local and state public health officials, residents, and other stakeholders identify and map areas of the State with larger populations of people who may be more vulnerable to heat. New York City has its own interactive heat vulnerability index.

The HVI can help direct programs and resources and inform planning efforts in communities and population more at risk of heat-related illness. For example, it can help local agencies make decisions to:

  • set up cooling centers in areas where there where more people don’t have access to air-conditioned spaces;
  • provide transportation to and from cooling centers in neighborhoods where there may not be public transportation or where fewer people own vehicles;
  • identify non-English speaking communities where interpretive and second language services may be needed to provide important health information;
  • identify services for people in high-risk groups like older adults who live alone.

The HVI is not intended to provide information about an individual’s vulnerability. An area identified as having lower heat vulnerability does not mean there is no risk to people in that area. Everyone is at some risk for heat-related illness and during extreme heat events should follow steps to reduce this risk.

Methodology

The HVI is based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s climate vulnerability framework of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptability. Fourteen indicators were grouped based on three factors: heat exposure, sociodemographics, and health outcomes. Learn about the data and methods used to calculate the HVI.

Heat and Health StoryMap

The HVI is featured in this interactive StoryMap that presents the latest research on extreme heat and impact on health in New York State.