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Rising Heat in Chatham County

Chatham County Heat Action Plan

Building a healthy Chatham County through community partnerships and a commitment to equity.

June 27, 2026

James Tiger, Environmental Health Director

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OUTLINE

Chatham County Heat Action Plan

Why needed?

High-Risk Populations
Increasing Heat

Frequency
Duration
Heat Islands
ED Visits

Plan Elements
Resources

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HEAT ACTION PLAN – WHY NEEDED?

Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the US.

Predictions of longer hotter summers.

Increase resilience of residents to current and future heat events.

3 key goals:

Increase awareness of extreme heat impacts
Reduce heat-associated illness
Data collection for future needs

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SOCIAL VULNERABILITY AND HIGH-RISK GROUPS

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)

Developed Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)

Ranks census tract relative vulnerability

4 themes
16 social factors

Refers to community’s capacity to prepare and respond

Used by public health and emergency management

Identify higher risk communities
Plan before, during, after hazardous event (including extreme heat)

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Image accessed online from ATSDR Place and Health GRASP (May 2026)

CDC and ATSDR SVI

4 themes

16 social factors

SOCIAL

VULNERABILITY

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Census tract vulnerability

0 = lowest
1 = highest

Overall Chatham SVI

0.295 = low to medium

CHATHAM

SVI

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INCREASING HEAT AND HIGH-RISK GROUPS

High-risk groups and individuals within all census tracts.

Individual response to heat highly variable:

Acclimation
Health / age
Medications
Knowledge / education
Daily activities / physical location
Alcohol and drug use
Previous heat-related illness

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INCREASING HEAT AND HIGH-RISK GROUPS

Known high-risk groups:

Older adults (65+)
Infants / young children
Pregnancy
Certain health problems / chronic conditions
Access to reliable housing or air conditioning
Outdoor workers
Athletes

Considering the previous slide, there are known groups or populations at highest risk of heat related illness:

Older adults – have reduced ability to thermoregulate, or regulate body temperature, and may have health complications or take prescription medication that exacerbate effects of heat and impact thermoregulation

Infants, children – dependents, rely on others to stay safe and lack knowledge or resources to protect themselves, less efficient thermoregulation physiologically

Pregnancy – general increase in core body temperature due to pregnancy and increased risk of dehydration along with increased risks to developing fetus

Health problems/chronic conditions – may cause reduced ability to thermoregulate, may be taking medications that exacerbate the effects of heat

Housing – reduced access to water and air conditioning potentially compounded by chronic stressors

Outdoor workers – lack of access to air conditioning along with physical exertion and potentially long shifts with lack of shade, compounded by personal protective equipment

Athletes – physical exertion and exposure, and in some cases wearing protective gear trapping heat

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HOT DAYS

Historically – 11 days per year above 95^oF
By 2060 – 33 to 46 days per year
Meta analysis – every 1.8^oFtemperature increase

Heat related morbidity increases 18%
Heat related mortality increases 35%

Retrieved from NC Resilience Exchange May 19, 2026

Chatham County

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HEAT INDEX

What the temperature ‘feels’ like; humidity
Historically – 28 days per year above 95^oF
By 2060 – 65 to 79 days per year
Above 95^oF

Difficulty regulating body temperature
Sharp increase in HRI risk

Retrieved from NC Resilience Exchange May 19, 2026

Chatham County

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HOTTER NIGHTS

Nights are getting hotter

Warming faster than days

Impacts sleep and recovery
Disproportionate effect

Air conditioning/housing
Age/health

Retrieved from NC Resilience Exchange May 19, 2026

Chatham County

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Summer and night averages are warmer by 4.5^oF

More summer days above normal temperatures

Summer is lasting longer – projected 2-3 extra weeks

REGIONAL HEAT TRENDS

Charts from Climate Central online, May 2026

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Developed areas hotter than rural

Built-upon area absorb and re-emit sun’s heat
Daytime 1-7^oF hotter
Nighttime 2-5^oF hotter
Humidity increases effect

Anticipate Chatham heat islands to grow

Rapid development
Chatham Park

	1 - Least
	2
	3
	4
	5 - Most

HEAT

ISLANDS

Data from Trust for Public Land, 2025; ArcGIS online

Siler City

Briar Chapel

Pittsboro

Fearrington

Village

Governors

Club

Compounding rising daytime and nighttime temperatures, the urban heat island effect refers to the phenomenon where developed urban areas become notably warmer than surrounding rural areas. This is the result of building materials such as concrete and asphalt used in parking lots, buildings, and roads that absorb and give off heat more than natural ground cover like bodies of water, trees, and other plants.

The result is an increase of 1-7F during the day and 2-5F at night and is exacerbated by high humidity. The map shows mapped heat island severity in Chatham County in 2025 according to the Trust for Public Land. Red indicates areas with the highest severity. The heat island effect in Chatham would be expected to increase because of rapid development. For comparison notice the severity of Wake County to the east and Sanford to the south.

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EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

VISITS FOR HRI

Statewide post-pandemic resurgence in heat-related illness

Chatham County is doing better than NC on HRI

Seasonal ED Visits for HRI – Chatham County

Annual ED Visits for HRI – Chatham County and NC

Data from NCDETECT, May 21, 2026

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EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS FOR HRI

Review of Chatham ED visits over the past 5 years (NCDETECT):

Men were 2.6 times as likely as women to present with HRI
Young adults were 1.3 times as likely as seniors to present with HRI

Data from NCDETECT, May 21, 2026

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HEAT ACTION PLAN - INTERVENTIONS

Interventions begin during heat season:

Start first date maximum temperature reaches 85^oF or May 1
End last date maximum temperature reaches 85^oF or October 30
3 phases

Phase I – Seasonal Readiness
Phase II – Excessive Heat Watch
Phase III – Excessive Heat Warning

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CHATHAM COUNTY HEAT ACTION PLAN

Phase I – Seasonal Readiness

Heat season kickoff meeting with stakeholders
Verify cooling center locations
Chatham Transit rides
Initiate outreach and awareness campaigns

Media notification
Press release
Websites and social media

- On Air Today (May 22, 2026)

We are currently in phase I of the heat action plan (and hope to stay there). Phase I is defined by a heat season kickoff meeting with stakeholders, cooling center location verification, initiation of Chatham Transit rides to cooling centers, and initiation of outreach and awareness campaigns.

During heat season, we partner with Chatham Transit to offer free rides to cooling centers. The plan provides heat index thresholds for the ride service throughout the season, but this year we opted to make the rides free regardless of those thresholds. And as of this past week, we had our first resident make use of the ride service.

We’ve been active on social media posting about heat season and interviewed with WCHL the Hill to spread the word. We also partnered with Love Chatham to distribute box fans and heat season backpacks in the community, and Emergency Operations has purchased more fans for distribution.

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COOLING CENTER LOCATIONS

Chatham County Public Libraries

Chatham Community Library

197 NC Hwy 87N, Pittsboro

Wren Memorial Library

500 North Second Ave., Siler City

Goldston Public Library

9235 Pittsboro-Goldston Rd., Goldston

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CHATHAM COUNTY HEAT ACTION PLAN

Phase II – Excessive Heat Watch

Predictions by NWS of extreme heat event, or:

3+ days above average temp.
Extreme Heat Watch issued
Increase in heat-related EMS calls or ED visits
Abnormal animal mortality rates
Predicted or actual power outages during extreme heat

Phase II actions:

Emergency Management (EM) notify partners and stakeholders
Periodic partner / stakeholder calls and meetings
EM and Public Health coordinate availability of resources including cooling centers/shelters
EM track and fill resource requests for cooling centers
Release public safety messaging

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CHATHAM COUNTY HEAT ACTION PLAN

Phase III – Excessive Heat Warning

Conditions pose a sever threat, or:

NWS issues Excessive Heat Warning
NWS issues Heat Advisory or Watch in addition to:

Abnormal human heat related medical emergencies / mortalities
Heat related power utility emergency or outage
Abnormal animal heat related mortality

Phase III actions:

Health Dept. may declare local health emergency
EM may request local emergency proclamation
Emergency Operations Center activation (if needed)
EM may open emergency shelters as cooling centers
Increase press release and public outreach
Increased transportation to cooling centers

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HEAT SEASON RESOURCES

NCDHHS Heat Alerts Signup

County alerts via email for dangerous heat index
May 1 to September 30
Predictions for 8 climate regions with season-specific thresholds = greater accuracy

Utility Bill Assistance

Salvation Army of Chatham County Emergency Assistance
Duke Energy “Share the Light” Fund (in partnership with NCDHHS)
NCDHHS Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP)

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HEAT SEASON RESOURCES

Home Repair Services

Central Piedmont Community Action Weatherization Assistance
Preserving Home – Home Repair Services
NCDEQ Annual Weatherization Assistance Program

Shade Structures and Tree Planting

American Academy of Dermatology Shade Structure Program

Grants to install permanent shade structures for children

North Carolina Forest Development Program

Private landowner reforesting assistance

Federal Programs for Forest Landowner Assistance

Environmental Quality Program
Conservation Reserve Program
Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program
Wetlands Reserve Program

Legacy Tree Fund – NC Urban Forest Council

Grants for tree planting projects

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Thank You

Building a healthy Chatham County through community partnerships and a commitment to equity.

James Tiger

919-545-8316

james.tiger@chathamcountync.gov