Report by Hugi Hernandez and Egreenews Staff 

Between 2016 and 2023, Texas recorded more than 500 work-related heat illnesses and deaths; Louisiana saw emergency room visits for heat-related illness surpass 950 visits in the first half of 2024 alone. Heat-related deaths nationally more than doubled in four years, reaching at least 2,160 deaths in 2023. These numbers are almost certainly undercounts because heat is rarely listed as the primary cause of death on death certificates.

Extreme heat is a quiet disaster. Unlike hurricanes or floods, heat waves don’t topple buildings or carve paths of obvious destruction. Yet heat kills more Americans annually than any other weather-related hazard, with the deep south experiencing the highest sustained exposure levels of any U.S. region. The eight cities and eight counties listed here—stretching from Houston to Charleston—share a humid subtropical climate, dense urban development, and state political environments that vary significantly in how they empower local governments to act.

This report examines how state legislators, U.S. congressional representatives, city mayors, and county officials shape heat action—or inaction—across Tuscaloosa and Bibb County (Alabama); Savannah and Chatham County (Georgia); Atlanta and Fulton County (Georgia); Charleston and Charleston County (South Carolina); Columbia and Richland County (South Carolina); Pensacola and Escambia County (Florida); New Orleans and Orleans Parish (Louisiana); and Houston and Harris County (Texas). The comparison reveals a fragmented landscape where mayors and county commissioners drive most operational responses, state legislatures vary sharply in their willingness to mandate protections, and formal heat action plans exist at the local level but rarely at the state level across these jurisdictions.

 Theme One: Heat Action Plans—Who Has One and Who Doesn’t

A formal heat action plan (HAP) provides a framework for early warning, cooling center activation, public communication, and long-term mitigation. The Federation of American Scientists describes HAPs as systematic, science-based processes that organize heat interventions across short, medium and long time horizons. Across the eight locations, the presence of a formal HAP correlates strongly with mayor-driven initiatives rather than state mandates.

Houston operates one of the region’s most codified heat emergency systems. The city activates its Public Health Heat Emergency Plan when the heat index reaches 108 degrees on two consecutive days, triggering cooling center openings and public messaging campaigns. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration embedded heat resilience within Resilient Houston and the city’s Climate Action Plan, with updates tracking measurable progress.

New Orleans launched the NOLA Ready Heat Relief Map in 2023, an interactive tool listing air-conditioned public locations. Mayor LaToya Cantrell declared a state of emergency over extreme heat that same year, citing at least six heat-related deaths and heat indexes above 115 degrees. Louisiana’s governor, John Bel Edwards, followed with a statewide emergency declaration. While New Orleans lacks a standalone HAP, its emergency response mechanisms are operational.

Savannah operates a cooling and warming center plan triggered by the city manager’s discretion. A 2022 city council resolution directed the manager to convert community centers into temporary cooling stations. Chatham County later expanded this with a Heat Awareness Week proclamation in 2025. No verifiable source was found for a comprehensive Savannah HAP beyond the 2022 resolution.

Charleston offers a distinctive case. The Lowcountry Heat Action Plan Toolkit, developed by The Citadel, provides residents with community notifications, cooling locations checklists, and adaptation strategies. This is a community-facing toolkit rather than a government-mandated plan. Charleston County’s Climate Action Plan remains under development as of 2024. Mayor William Cogswell proclaimed Heat Safety Week in 2024 but has not enacted a dedicated HAP.

“The toolkit helps residents prepare for the impacts of extreme heat, with a unique focus on the Lowcountry’s past, current, and future climate data.” — Lowcountry Heat Action Plan Toolkit, The Citadel

Columbia lacks a formal HAP but has invested in heat mapping. A citizen science campaign found downtown Columbia as much as 18 degrees hotter than suburban areas. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann has championed “smart surfaces”—reflective roofs and pavements, porous surfaces, and expanded tree canopy—as a mitigation strategy.

Atlanta represents a research-rich but policy-light environment. Georgia Tech’s Urban Climate Lab has extensively mapped heat exposure across Fulton County, finding land surface temperatures ranging from 23.7°C in vegetated areas to 31.5°C in developed areas. A proposed HAP exists in academic literature but has not been adopted by city or county government.

Tuscaloosa and Pensacola operate cooling centers without formal HAPs. Tuscaloosa’s cooling stations are managed through senior centers with limited operating hours. Escambia County partners with the Waterfront Rescue Mission to provide daytime cooling shelter but has no comprehensive plan.

Finding: Of the eight cities, only Houston has a fully codified, data-triggered heat emergency plan. The others rely on emergency declarations, cooling center resolutions, or no formal mechanism at all. No standalone state-level HAP exists for Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, or Texas covering these counties.

 Theme Two: Occupational Heat Safety—Where Workers Are Protected

Workplace heat exposure affects construction workers, agricultural laborers, postal carriers, and utility workers. Federal OSHA requires employers to provide water, shade, and acclimatization protocols, but these rules are loosely enforced and lack specific temperature thresholds. State-level action on occupational heat safety varies dramatically across the eight jurisdictions.

Texas has seen the most legislative activity—and the most political conflict. Between 2023 and 2025, multiple bills aimed at establishing heat illness prevention standards were introduced: HB 91 (creating a heat illness prevention advisory board), HB 446 (adding a private cause of action for violations), and HB 3982 (responding to heat-related worker illnesses that exceeded 500 in 2023). As of mid-2025, these bills were under committee review. Meanwhile, Texas and Florida have preemption laws limiting local authority to enact heat protections beyond state mandates.

Harris County, however, moved unilaterally in 2025. The county’s Worksite Safety Policy mandates 15-minute water breaks every two hours when temperatures reach 90 degrees or higher, plus mandatory site-specific heat illness prevention plans. This county-level action tests the limits of Texas preemption law.

Florida considered HB 945 in 2024, which would have required employers to implement outdoor heat exposure safety programs with annual training. The bill did not advance. No verifiable county-level policy was found for Escambia County beyond shelter partnerships.

Louisiana saw New Orleans take a distinctive contracting approach. Effective October 2025, any contractor, vendor, or supplier party to a contract with the city must implement heat illness prevention measures. This procurement-based strategy uses city spending power to enforce worker protections without passing a general ordinance.

Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina have no state-level occupational heat safety laws beyond federal OSHA requirements. No verifiable county-level policies were found for Bibb, Chatham, Fulton, Charleston, or Richland counties. A key data point: Texas reported more than 500 occupational heat-related illnesses in 2023 alone, yet state legislation remains pending. Harris County acted without waiting for state approval.

 Theme Three: Heat Risk Research and Mapping—Who Knows Where the Hot Spots Are

Research capacity varies enormously across the eight locations. The most detailed heat vulnerability work comes from university-government partnerships, not state agencies.

Harris County has a formal Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) that identifies census tracts at disproportionate risk. The index informs public health targeting. A 2023 study found that Harris County and southeast Texas face higher temperatures, longer heat waves, and higher nighttime temperatures in future projections. 2023 became the deadliest summer in five years for heat-related deaths in Harris and surrounding counties.

Fulton County benefits from Georgia Tech’s Urban Climate Lab. A 2022 study mapped land surface temperature across Atlanta and found socioeconomic predictors of heat exposure, including correlations between lower-income neighborhoods and higher temperatures. UrbanHeatATL, a citizen science project, collects street-level temperature data using sensors carried by volunteers.

Richland County contributed to a machine learning study on urban tree canopy mapping in Columbia. The research found that SVM imagery classifiers accurately identified tree canopy changes between 2005 and 2019, with visual findings linking canopy loss to new hot spots. Columbia’s Tree and Appearance Commission reported approximately 21% tree canopy loss due to land annexed between 2005 and 2020.

Bibb County (Tuscaloosa’s county) had no verifiable heat mapping research within the date range. A USGS study covering 50 major U.S. cities found that 47 of 50 cities have positive surface urban heat island intensity, with a mean of 2.88°C (5.19°F), but Tuscaloosa was not among the 50. The nearest available substitute is an Alabama urban heat vulnerability study covering Birmingham, Montgomery, and Auburn-Opelika, which assessed vulnerability at the block group level combining exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity measures.

Orleans Parish has access to Louisiana’s statewide heat-related illness dashboard, launched and expanded in 2024. The dashboard provides daily and weekly emergency department visit data broken down by parish, age, sex, and race. As of July 2024, Jefferson Parish had the highest number of heat-related ER visits at 144, with Orleans Parish ranking nearby. This is the most granular real-time heat health surveillance system across all eight locations.

Chatham County participates in regional climate impact assessments identifying more frequent extreme heat events and sea level rise as dual threats. No standalone heat vulnerability study was found.

Charleston County has extensive sea level rise research but limited heat-specific mapping. The South Carolina Hazard Mitigation Plan notes Charleston’s sea level has risen 1.3 inches per decade, nearly double the global average. However, no peer-reviewed urban heat island mapping specific to Charleston County was found within the date range.

 Institutional Capacity vs. On-the-Ground Reality

Across all eight locations, a persistent gap exists between research capacity and policy implementation. Universities produce sophisticated heat vulnerability analyses. State legislatures largely ignore them. Local governments operate on shoestring budgets and emergency declarations.

Harris County exemplifies the gap: it has a Heat Vulnerability Index and county-level worksite safety rules, yet Texas state law preempts stronger local worker protections and no state HAP exists. Columbia has excellent tree canopy research and a mayor committed to smart surfaces, but no formal HAP or dedicated resilience office. Richland County is “working toward establishing a dedicated resilience office” as of 2023—a phrase that suggests capacity is still aspirational.

Federal funding is available but underexploited. NOAA awarded $700,000 for extreme heat planning in 2025 through Inflation Reduction Act funds. FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program offered $750 million for fiscal year 2024, including extreme heat mitigation projects. Yet FEMA explicitly noted it “encourages more States, Tribes and territories to apply for extreme heat projects,” implying current applications are insufficient. Of the 656 BRIC project selections announced in 2024, only 12 addressed extreme heat—totaling less than $13 million out of $1 billion in climate resilience funding [26†L24-L27].

State-level legislative attention to extreme heat remains sparse outside Texas. The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators found that among 25 states active on climate adaptation in 2025, the focus areas were wildfire resiliency, extreme heat occupational standards, and flood preparedness—but most bills were introduced rather than enacted. The Nicholas Institute analyzed heat legislation across 11 southeastern states and found significant gaps in enforceable standards.

Heat risk education in schools follows a similar pattern. Georgia ranks No. 1 nationally for athletic heat safety policies, with the Georgia High School Association requiring wet-bulb globe temperature monitoring during practices. Texas introduced HB 1797, which would require schools to monitor heat stress risk before outdoor activities using WBGT measurements. However, classroom heat risk education—teaching students to recognize heat illness symptoms and take protective actions—remains largely absent from state curricula. The Texas natural hazards education pilot study found most schools do not cover heat hazards in depth due to curriculum priorities.

School infrastructure tells another part of the story. Houston ISD reported more than 1,600 HVAC problems in the last full month of the 2024-25 school year and projected $40 million for HVAC and roofing repairs in 2025-26. This is not a heat action plan. This is deferred maintenance catching up with climate reality.

 The Periphery and the Center: Tuscaloosa/Bibb County vs. Houston/Harris County

Comparing Tuscaloosa (population approximately 100,000) with Houston (population 2.3 million) reveals how scale and state political context shape heat action.

Houston has a dedicated public health department, a formal heat emergency plan with specific triggers, a Climate Action Plan with measurable targets, county-level worksite safety rules, and a mayor who chaired the global Climate Mayors network. The city also has 334 heat-related deaths statewide in 2023 and state preemption laws that block stronger local worker protections.

Tuscaloosa has cooling centers operated through senior service agencies with limited hours and transportation only within a five-mile radius for seniors 60 and older. No formal HAP. No heat vulnerability study specific to the city. No occupational heat safety policy at the local level. No state-level heat legislation in Alabama. The nearest research comes from Birmingham and Montgomery, 50 miles away.

“The urban tree canopy has been found to be one of the few factors that can lessen the effects of the urban heat island effect.” — Machine Learning in Urban Tree Canopy Mapping: A Columbia, SC Case Study, Geographies 2023

What explains the difference? Partly population density and tax base—Houston can afford a public health apparatus that Tuscaloosa cannot. Partly political leadership—Houston’s mayors have prioritized climate resilience in ways Tuscaloosa’s have not. And partly state context—Texas, despite its preemption laws, has at least seen legislative debate on heat safety, whereas Alabama has seen none.

Yet the comparison also shows that large-city solutions do not simply scale down. Houston’s heat emergency plan requires data infrastructure, trained personnel, and interagency coordination that a city of 100,000 cannot replicate. Tuscaloosa’s senior-center cooling model is appropriate to its size but leaves uncovered populations—outdoor workers, unhoused residents, families without transportation—with no pathway to relief.

The data on this point are incomplete. No systematic assessment exists of cooling center utilization rates, demographic coverage, or health outcomes across different-sized jurisdictions. Available evidence suggests smaller cities rely on ad hoc nonprofit partnerships rather than codified plans, though sample sizes for systematic comparison are insufficient.

 Conclusion: Evidence Gaps and Next Steps

What is known is narrower than what is needed. Houston has a working heat emergency plan. Harris County has a Heat Vulnerability Index and county-level worker protections. Louisiana has a real-time heat illness dashboard. Georgia has strong athletic heat safety rules. Columbia has innovative smart surfaces policy. Charleston has a community toolkit. These are islands of competence in a region where most jurisdictions have neither a plan nor the data to build one.

What remains uncertain is vast. No rigorous evaluation has compared health outcomes across jurisdictions with and without formal HAPs. No longitudinal study tracks whether cooling center access reduces heat-related morbidity. No systematic assessment measures the effectiveness of state preemption laws in blocking local heat protections. The research literature on heat risk is concentrated in the largest cities; the remaining locations exist in evidence shadows.

Three questions for further research

1. What is the measurable reduction in heat-related emergency department visits in jurisdictions with formal HAPs compared to demographically similar jurisdictions without them?

2. How do state preemption laws affecting local worker heat protections correlate with occupational heat illness rates across Texas, Florida, and other southern states?

3. What is the cost-effectiveness of cooling centers compared to targeted home air-conditioning assistance in reducing heat mortality among elderly populations in small to mid-sized cities?

Takeaways

– Only Houston among the eight cities has a fully codified heat emergency plan with specific activation triggers; most jurisdictions operate on emergency declarations or have no formal mechanism.

– Texas and Florida have preemption laws that limit local heat worker protections, while Harris County (Texas) adopted its own worksite safety rules in 2025, testing the limits of preemption.

– Louisiana’s real-time heat illness dashboard provides the most granular health surveillance data; Georgia has the strongest athletic heat safety policies; Alabama has no state-level heat legislation.

– Research capacity (university heat mapping) exceeds policy implementation (formal HAPs) across all locations; evidence gaps on cooling center effectiveness and health outcomes remain substantial.

Evidence suggests that policymakers may consider procurement-based heat safety standards (contractor requirements linked to city contracts, as adopted by New Orleans in 2025) as a legally durable approach that works within preemption frameworks while protecting workers exposed to city-funded projects.

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