📣 Health Risk Communication & Preparedness Programs

• In Greater Manchester, Project Heatwave shows how co-design with older adults and community organisations leads to messages that are more trusted, culturally resonant and easier to act on. Grounding communication in lived experience helps people recognise heat danger and adopt protective behaviours.
• Rio de Janeiro’s Heat Protocol highlights the operational foundations of preparedness. Defined alert levels, coordinated departmental roles and clear response procedures ensure that health, emergency and social services act quickly and consistently when extreme heat is forecast.
• Montreal demonstrates how address-based data strengthens outreach. Mapping where vulnerable residents live enables targeted contact from health authorities and community partners before heatwaves intensify, expanding the reach and relevance of early actions.

Together, these examples show how smart communication, collaborative design and operational preparedness deliver timely, life-saving information to the people who need it most.

Climate-driven health risks such as extreme heat require fast, coordinated action. Effective communication reduces preventable illness and mortality by ensuring people understand the danger and know what to do. Preparedness systems also improve coordination across agencies and help cities direct limited resources to residents who face the greatest exposure.