The center’s mission is to help communities better prepare for extreme heat before it becomes deadly.
PHOENIX — As Arizona prepares for another dangerously hot summer, federal lawmakers and researchers are warning that extreme heat is no longer just a seasonal inconvenience — it is a growing public safety crisis.
On Friday, U.S. Reps. Greg Stanton and Yassamin Ansari announced a $2.6 million federal investment to establish Arizona State University’s new Center for Heat Preparedness, which officials say will be the first center of its kind in the nation.
The center’s mission is to help communities better prepare for extreme heat before it becomes deadly.
“Extreme heat is no longer an uncomfortable fact about Arizona summers,” Stanton said. “It is a threat to our power grids, our water supply, our transportation systems and more importantly, human life.”
According to Stanton, the center will focus on developing predictive models to anticipate dangerous heat events, while also creating best practices to protect infrastructure and public health.
“This center will develop predictive models and anticipate extreme heat events before they become emergencies, they will build best practices to protect critical infrastructure and bring researchers, policy makers and community members together to turn data into actual action,” Stanton said.
Officials say the work will also focus on practical solutions, including improving cooling centers, expanding shade at public bus stops and helping utility companies prepare for increased energy demand during heat waves.
“We’ll improve guidance for cooling centers, we’ll help shape legal protections for people at the highest risk for health-related issues, we will establish policies to ensure we’re getting resources to the right places and people at the right time,” said Dr. Sally Morton of ASU.
The announcement comes as Maricopa County continues to see record heat-related deaths.
“In 2024 alone, Maricopa County recorded over 600 heat-related deaths,” Stanton said.
“When someone dies from extreme heat, whether they’re an outdoor worker or sitting in their home, our system has failed them,” he added.
ASU officials said the center will expand on heat-related research already underway at the university. Nearly 170 researchers are currently working on projects tied to extreme heat, including developing street materials designed to keep neighborhoods cooler.
“Heat really affects us where we live, where we work, where play, where we move throughout our city and our pocketbooks and our health and so this is really helping us translate our research to have an impact in our lives,” said Dr. Patricia Solis, executive director of Knowledge Exchange for Resilience.
Researchers say the urgency is growing as extreme heat events become more frequent and severe.
“It is not a future threat, it is here and escalating,” Morton said.
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