Extreme Heat Vulnerability Assessment

The Extreme Heat Vulnerability Assessment is the first of several climate vulnerability assessments the Climate Program has planned. Areas with the most exposure, the highest population sensitivity, and the least ability to adapt will be identified as the highest priority for public health interventions.

This assessment combines health, economic, governmental, community, and environmental indicators together to create a vulnerability score for each census tract. The vulnerability score allows us to compare different areas to one another. The score assigned to each census tract is calculated using seventeen different indicators. The indicators are separated into three different categories: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. A combination of these categories - using the equation shown below and here - calculates the overall vulnerability score. For more in-depth explanation of the vulnerability assessment and calculations, please see the Methods document.

Exposure + Sensitivity – Adaptive Capacity = Vulnerability

• Exposure: Quantifies how much or how little individuals, communities, and populations experience a certain hazard.
• Sensitivity: Physiological, socioeconomic, and community design factors that increase susceptibility.
• Adaptive capacity: An evaluation of the ability to adjust, limit, and cope with potential hazards or exposures.

* Heat Index: According to the National Weather Service, the heat index is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature.

Identifying Vulnerable Areas

The map below depicts the overall vulnerability for extreme heat and health throughout Harris County. Click on the map for an interactive look at all of the indicators. Click here to open this map in a new tab.

Additional Assessment Information

• The Heat Vulnerability Story Map provides information about the assessment process and why we looked at certain indicators. As you progress through the story map, you will discover how the different categories come together to create this heat and health vulnerability assessment.
• This assessment relies on various indicators from different sources with varying levels of quality. Utilize the Indicators page for an in-depth explanation of each indicator. Here you will be able to find why the indicator is important for health, references, data sources, and limitations.
• This assessment will be updated as new data becomes available.