Extreme Heat

Finn Ryan, David Nevala, Dillon Parker, Climate Wisconsin

This 3-minute video from PBS Wisconsin describes the socioeconomic vulnerability of elderly and impoverished populations during Wisconsin's heatwaves. A short summary provides more details about the dangers of heatwaves in urban settings and describes the projected increases in number of day over 90 degrees in Wisconsin. Students conduct a thoughtful discussion about climate-change related heatwaves and are tasked with creating poetry about their own experiences.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Be mindful of appropriateness for your audience, possibly use it as an "explore before" homework assignment or to illustrate the "why" of investigating a warming climate. Consider opening the discussion up to other types of natural disasters that might be more common in your area if heatwaves are not yet a priority concern. The video highlights several mood-related effects of heatwaves; Ask students to think more deeply about how they feel when they are in the heat for long periods of time (Are they more irritable and tired? etc.) Consider bringing in more information about urban heat islands, which are mentioned in this resource. That may help students to more fully understand why heat as a natural hazard has more impact on cities.
The video itself offers an writing-based approach to the impacts of extreme heat but the accompanying text and information dive into an accurate scientific overview of the issue. Links are provided to NOAA Weather Awareness webpages and an attribution is made to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
Students are supported in creating personal links to material by researching how many people are considered vulnerable to heatwaves in their community, and are encouraged to think more deeply about why heat poses a risk to certain individuals by researching heat-related pathologies. Students are also engaged in scientific inquiry by designing solutions to urban-heat. This resource may expose students to new and diverse perspectives among their peers. The issue of extreme heat may be more familiar to some students than others. The emotion the video depicts should help students to relate to the topic. If this resource is used in an area that is generally hot and/or extreme heat events are not a topic of conversation, it may help if the teacher unpacks the subject before (or after) showing the video.