NJ releases Statewide Climate Change Resiliency Strategy. Officials want your feedback

Amanda Wallace , NorthJersey.com
Updated ·5 min read

On Monday, to kick off Earth Week, New Jersey's Interagency Council on Climate Change Resilience released a draft of its Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan and launched an updated version of a digital resource platform called Heat Hub NJ.

Additionally, according to a press release from the Department of Environmental Protection, the council is looking for your suggestions and feedback.

"No state is immune to the impacts of extreme heat, particularly New Jersey, which is warming at a rate faster than the global average as well as the rest of the Northeast," Gov. Phil Murphy said in the press release. "This not only underscores the need for a resilience strategy to combat extreme heat, but it also hastens our resolve to protect the residents of the Garden State and equip them with the knowledge they need to protect their families."

Here is everything you need to know about the draft plan and how you can help.

Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan draft

In 2019, Murphy signed Executive Order No. 89, which, among other things, has led to the establishment of the Interagency Council on Climate Resilience.

Part of the council's job is to support the development and implementation of New Jersey's Statewide Climate Change Resilience Strategy, which was released in 2021.

This year, the Draft Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan builds on the original statewide plan focusing specifically on mitigating the impacts of extreme heat.

"Extreme heat poses immediate and long-term health risks, compromises air quality, strains food and water supplies, and depletes the longevity of infrastructure and the stability of habits," said the press release. "State department and agency leaders have responded by developing agency-led initiatives, policies, and programs to address these challenges."

The draft plan is a compilation of 133 actions that have all been organized by theme into 20 focus areas and then further organized into a set of five priorities.

Priority one aims to build healthy and resilient communities with over 80 actions organized in 13 focus areas. Some areas of focus listed under priority one include:

  • Emergency preparedness and response

  • Cooling centers

  • Housing and residential cooling

  • Urban tree canopy and community forestry

  • Worker safety and health illness prevention

  • Energy infrastructure

  • Transportation

  • Urban heat islands

Priority two aims to strengthen the resilience of New Jersey's ecosystems through over 20 actions including promoting smart agricultural practices and responding to the impact of harmful algal blooms on recreation.

The last three priorities include over 30 actions with the goal of advancing state agency-led efforts to identify the support and resources that will be necessary for stakeholders to improve New Jersey's collective readiness to withstand extreme heat.

Priority three aims to promote coordinated governance.

Priority four aims to invest in information and increase public understanding.

Priority five aims to promote climate-informed investments and innovative financing.

For additional details and/or to read the full plan, visit dep.nj.gov/climatechange/resilience/resilience-action-plans.

Public feedback and suggestions

With the release of this draft plan, the Interagency Council is inviting public feedback and suggestions regarding the actions outlined in the plan.

The council is hosting two virtual public webinars to showcase the plan, on April 29 and May 7.

Anyone interested in submitting feedback on the plan or registering for the webinars can visit dep.nj.gov/climatechange/resilience/resilience-action-plans.

Public feedback and suggestions will be accepted through May 20.

A woman uses an umbrella to shield from the sun on Main street in Fort Lee. A heat wave rolls through North Jersey with a high of 98 degrees on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
A woman uses an umbrella to shield from the sun on Main street in Fort Lee. A heat wave rolls through North Jersey with a high of 98 degrees on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

Heat Hub NJ

In addition to releasing the draft plan, the council launched Heat Hub NJ.

Originally released as a prototype in 2023, Heat Hub NJ "provides the public with key information on extreme heat's impact on daily life and the environment, its adverse effects on human health and well-being, and guidance for protecting those particularly vulnerable to its effects," the press release said.

The heat hub offers videos and written information outlining the physical and mental effects of extreme heat, how to protect yourself, how to deal with heat waves and similar heat emergencies, and more.

There is also the Chill Out NJ feature to find public spaces to escape heat.

Check it out at heat-hub-new-jersey-njdep.hub.arcgis.com.

"As extreme heat events become more frequent and intense, we will see impacts to public health, our infrastructure, and our ecosystems," said Shawn M. LaTourette, commissioner of environmental protection. "The release of the plan and Heat Hub NJ to kick off Earth Week underscores the priority the administration places on doing everything we can to address the profound impacts of extreme heat on the public."

NOAA and CDC launch HeatRisk

Facing the increasing risk of extreme heat, the New Jersey government is not the only one taking action. Also on Monday, NOAA, in collaboration with the CDC, announced the expansion of a national tool called HeatRisk.

According to a press release from NOAA, "HeatRisk provides information and guidance for those who are particularly vulnerable to heat and may need to take extra precautions for their health when the temperature rises."

"Climate change is causing more frequent and intense heat waves that are longer in duration, resulting in nearly 1,220 deaths each year in the U.S. alone," said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad. "Last year was the warmest year on record for the globe, and we just experienced the warmest winter on record. HeatRisk is arriving just in time to help everyone, including heat-sensitive populations, prepare and plan for the dangers of extreme heat."

Check out the HeatRisk map at any time to see the risk for the current day as well as a forecast.

Factors that HeatRisk takes into consideration include:

  • How unusually above-normal the temperatures are at your location

  • The time of year

  • The duration of unusual heat

  • Whether those temperatures pose an elevated risk of heat-related impacts based on data from the CDC

As we approach the hot summer months, people can keep an eye on HeatRisk for guidance, especially for those who are a part of the heat-sensitive population such as elderly or very young people, those on specific medications that make them more vulnerable, and people working or exercising outside during the day.

Check it out at wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/heatrisk.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Extreme heat in NJ at center of state action plan, feedback needed