Extreme Heat Economic Study Act of 2025
The Extreme Heat Economic Study Act of 2025 would require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (NOAA’s climate program office) to lead an economic impact study on the financial costs of extreme heat. Working with the National Integrated Heat Health Information System’s member agencies, the study would quantify the dollar value of losses tied to extreme heat, including deaths, health impacts, property damage, and broader economic effects. The effort would examine health outcomes, medical costs, insurance claims, worker injuries, labor productivity losses, business interruptions, infrastructure and energy costs, and agricultural losses, using existing data sources and, if needed, an external organization (e.g., National Academies). The bill also directs the development of a national system to track and publicly share health and economic costs related to extreme heat, improve heat-death reporting, and measure labor productivity losses. A four-year deadline is set to publish findings on HEAT.gov and to permit public use of the data and methods through an open-access journal, with a proposed appropriation of $3.5 million to carry out the study.
Key Points
- 1Purpose and scope: Mandates an economic impact study of extreme heat, including the monetary value of loss of life and property, plus broader health, infrastructure, and energy cost effects.
- 2Elements of the study: Assess health impacts (mortality, morbidity) with standard value-of-life methods; estimate property losses; account for medical costs, insurance claims, workers’ compensation, productivity losses, business interruptions, infrastructure/energy costs, cooling energy expenses, and agricultural losses.
- 3Data and collaboration: Conducted by NOAA’s Climate Program Office in coordination with the National Integrated Heat Health Information System member agencies; solicits feedback from a wide list of federal agencies, non-federal partners, and other necessary entities.
- 4Recommendations and system-building: Proposes a national system to track and publicly share health-care costs from extreme heat, heat-death reporting improvements, and labor-productivity metrics.
- 5Use of external organizations and data: Allows use of external bodies (e.g., National Academies) and existing databases/indices to carry out the study.
- 6Reporting and public access: Requires a report within four years and makes findings publicly available on HEAT.gov; open-access publication of methods and results in a peer-reviewed journal under NOAA integrity policies.
- 7Funding: Authorized $3.5 million to carry out the section’s requirements.