How Climate Change Impacts Heat Waves and Ways to Adapt
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Provided by: Probable Futures|Published on: June 11, 2026
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This article explains how climate change increases the frequency and severity of heat waves and their related impacts.
- The article also discusses climate adaptations that can help reduce the impacts of heat waves on communities.
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: Sierra Chapin-Keller
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Prerequisites:
- Activate students’ prior knowledge of climate change and its causes.
- Review or introduce the basic concepts of air masses and wind patterns.
Interdisciplinary Connections:
- Language Arts:
- Have students practice summarizing. Students can identify key details from each section and write a one to two-sentence summary.
- Health:
- Focus on the health risks associated with heat exposure and have students create community action plans to educate the public about how to avoid risks.
- Social Studies:
- Discuss the environmental justice components associated with heat waves and extreme heat, noting how they impact marginalized groups disproportionately. This resource can help open up a discussion about this topic.
Related Resources:
- Use this related article to consider the economic factors related to climate impacts and their damage to infrastructure.
- Pair the article with this lesson plan to give students more information about the urban heat island effect and have them design a solution to reduce urban heat in a community.
Extensions:
- Have students select one adaptation strategy, such as heat safety, cool roofs, or green roofs, to research and report back on.
This resource clearly presents the science of heat waves and adaptations to extreme heat. The distinction between climate and weather is clearly made, as heat waves are described rightly as a weather event that is affected by climate change. The text is clear and is supported by several external links. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
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Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
Probable Futures
Probable Futures offers useful tools and maps to visualize climate change along with stories and insights to help people understand what those changes mean.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
