Washington (AP) —The Biden administration works after a dangerously hot summer that has killed hundreds of people from the northwestern Pacific to hurricane-ravaged Louisiana, spurring a drought-deteriorated wildfire onslaught. We are working to protect people and our communities from the extreme heat.

Under plans announced on Monday, the US Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other federal agencies have begun action aimed at reducing heat-related illnesses and protecting public health.

Gina McCarthy, the White House’s climate adviser, calls heat stress a “silent killer”, affecting the poor, the elderly and minority groups disproportionately. Although not as dramatic as wildfires and hurricanes, “heat stress is a serious and real threat and has fatal consequences,” McCarthy said in an interview.

“Many people don’t realize that heat stress is a real physical problem until it’s too late,” she said.

Efforts to combat heat stress will come as President Joe Biden works with world leaders to take the next step in the face of rapidly deteriorating climate change.

The June heat wave in the northwestern Pacific, exacerbated by climate change, killed hundreds and thousands visited emergency rooms for heat-related illnesses. In Louisiana, more than a million people, including the entire city of New Orleans, had a power outage. Hurricane Ida struck on August 29th. At least 12 of the 28 Aida-related deaths in Louisiana were due to fever, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

As part of the government’s plan, the Ministry of Labor has launched a program to protect outdoor workers, including agricultural, construction and delivery workers, as well as workers working indoors in warehouses, factories and kitchens. According to the White House, farm and construction workers are at greatest risk of heat radiation and other problems, but other workers who lack a climate-controlled environment are also at risk.

The White House said in a statement received by the Associated Press that “heat injuries and illnesses may be misclassified or unreported, especially in sectors that employ vulnerable and undocumented workers. There are many. “

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is set to issue new rules on heat stroke prevention in outdoor and indoor work environments, intervening on days when the heat index exceeds 80 ° F (26.7 ° C). And focus on workplace inspections. The White House called the rule an important step towards federal heat standards in the US workplace, and said authorities would expand the scope of scheduled and unscheduled inspections to address heat-related hazards.

According to the White House, the government will also expand the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to add a program to deal with extreme heat. The program has traditionally focused on providing heat during winter weather, but it can also help with the purchase of air conditioning units and the payment of electricity for cooling assistance. According to McCarthy, these programs will be expanded and authorities will implement targeted outreach to ensure that endangered households are in a safe temperature environment.

The government is expanding its use as a cooling center for schools and other public buildings.

“School cooling centers save lives,” McCarthy said. “These are opportunities for people in all communities to actually find relief when they need it most.”

She urged the community to carry out programs such as “adoption of the elderly” and conduct health examinations to ensure that the elderly are drinking water and not overheating. “Such a personal touch will be the difference between a long-lived individual and a dying individual who is basically unrecognized in their own home,” McCarthy said.

The Biden administration has taken steps to tackle climate change since its inauguration.

Biden announced on Friday a pledge with the European Union to reduce the leakage of climate-destroying methane. Increasingly harsh discoveries from scientists conclude that the world is approaching a point where the levels of climate damage from burning oil, gas and coal are becoming catastrophic and irreversible.

Biden said on Friday that these explanations “represent the red code for humankind,” and that the temperature of the earth is so hot that it will rise in about 10 years and prevent world leaders from doing so. He said it could exceed the level of warming that he is trying to achieve.

“We have to act, we must act now,” Biden said, “damage and destruction” seen in the United States, large-scale floods in Europe, and warmth associated with the rise of natural disasters. It was reminiscent of other global damages caused by the climate. And severity.

In the past few weeks, Biden has been in California, where firefighters are fighting bigger, more intense, and more deadly wildfires almost all year round, and the United States, where hurricane Aida and its floods have killed dozens of people. I visited the northeastern part and the Gulf Coast.

As part of a new initiative, the government is focusing on the city’s “heat island.” On this heat island, the temperature of a city with few trees and high pavement can be higher than in the surrounding area. The White House refuses to serve residents in certain areas on a racial or ethnic basis, citing a recent analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency that showed a disproportionate reduction in the serious damage caused by climate change. He said the problem could be more serious in areas affected by discriminatory practices. About minorities and poorly serviced communities.

According to the White House, the government plans to expand urban forestry programs and other “greening” projects to reduce exposure to extreme temperatures and heat. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has launched a series of prize contests focused on strengthening the country’s resilience to climate change. The first contest will focus on new ways to protect people at risk of heat-related illness and death during extreme heat events or in connection with other disasters.