An Assessment of Heat Action Plans: Global standards, good practices and partnerships

With global temperatures climbing, extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and intense, threatening public health, infrastructure, and economies. Heat Action Plans (HAPs) play a key role in reducing these impacts across different levels of governance, yet the absence of formal standards has led to wide variations in their structure, objectives, and execution. This inconsistency often produces fragmented efforts and leaves major gaps in funding, vulnerability assessments, and long-term resilience planning.

Drawing on assessments of HAPs from six countries (Australia, Canada, France, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States) this synthesis report outlines both persistent challenges and proven strategies for strengthening heat resilience. While twelve countries were reviewed, no publicly available plans were found for Argentina, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Egypt, the Republic of Korea, or Senegal.

The report calls for an adaptable national governance framework that incorporates standardized risk definitions, clearly assigned responsibilities, cross-sector coordination, and robust early warning systems, enabling cohesive yet locally tailored action. It also underscores recurring shortcomings, such as inadequate dedicated funding, weak long-term planning, and limited evaluation capacity, all of which undermine effectiveness.

By highlighting best practices from existing plans, the report offers flexible recommendations to guide the creation of national frameworks that support subnational initiatives—fostering coordinated, scalable responses to both current and future heat risks.