Although known for its warm climate, Tampa isn’t immune from the dangers of extreme heat. Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths nationwide. Since 2016, Tampa’s heat index has consistently exceeded 100 degrees for over 45 days per year. This number spiked in 2022, with Tampa experiencing 89 dangerous days with the heat index exceeding 100 degrees.
The City of Tampa developed the Heat Resilience Playbook in collaboration with researchers at the University of South Florida and Resilient Cities Catalyst, a nonprofit that helps cities advance resilience work. The playbook outlines the policies, projects, and programs Tampa plans to implement to protect residents and ensure our city has the appropriate infrastructure and strategies for communities to endure the extreme heat.
The playbook includes 18 actionable steps to increase access to spaces of refuge, enhance and protect the tree canopy, and integrate heat resilience components in projects, whenever possible. Although heat is impacting residents citywide, some neighborhoods and communities are disproportionately impacted due to differences in physical infrastructure, such as tree canopy coverage, and concentrations of at-risk groups, such as seniors, children, outdoor workers, and those with underlying medical conditions such as asthma.