July 5 -- The National Weather Service (NWS), NOAA, Commerce Department, invites public comment to OMB by August 4, 2023 regarding its proposal to conduct Extreme Heat Social and Behavioral Sciences Research.
Heat continues to be the leading weather-related killer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating more than 700 deaths a year resulting from heat exposure. The National Weather Service (NWS) needs to bridge the gap between physical science information and how it is received and acted upon by its public and partners. As such, this collection is critical in expanding NWS knowledge of public perception and understanding of heat to inform and improve national and local level heat communication and messaging. It is mission-critical for NWS to get their information out effectively, particularly to those most at risk including children, older adults, people experiencing homelessness, people with pre-existing conditions, indoor and outdoor workers, emergency responders, incarcerated people, low income communities, pregnant people, and athletes.
The information will be used to improve heat-related products and services. Specifically, the information collected will be used to improve the NWS' national and local level heat communication and messaging. Information collected will also improve resources provided through Heat.gov, which is the webportal for the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS).
This study is permitted by the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 which calls on NOAA to “improve the understanding of how the public receives, interprets, and responds to warnings and forecasts of high impact weather events that endanger life and property.” It also addresses Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The study addresses the NOAA FY22–26 Strategic Plan.
Heat continues to be the leading weather-related killer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating more than 700 deaths and 9,000 hospitalizations a year resulting from heat exposure. . . . The National Weather Service (NWS) has articulated a priority to enhance services for these historically underinvested and underserved communities that are at greater risk for experiencing negative health impacts related to extreme heat. While the NWS continues to enhance its heat-related products and services, there is still significant room for improvement, particularly in bridging the gap between physical science information and how it is received and acted upon by our public and partners.
As such, this study will focus on expanding our knowledge of public perception and understanding of heat to inform and improve the NWS’ national and local level heat communication and messaging. This will include an initial literature review to draw out known best practices and identify research gaps to inform a mixed methods approach including a series of remote focus groups and a large-scale public survey. The focus groups are intended to explore how pertinent public, nonprofit, corporate, and academic stakeholders message heat information and resources, particularly for underserved communities. The quantitative survey will use a representative sample of the U.S. population and focus on more broadly conceptualizing public perception and understanding of heat.
NWS Excessive Heat:
https://www.weather.gov/phi/heat
NWS submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202306-0648-013 Click IC List for information collection instrument, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-14099
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806