Extreme Heat: Limited FEMA Assistance Highlights Need for Reevaluation of Agency’s Role
Fast Facts
Extreme heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the United States. A 2024 study found that the total number of heat-related deaths recorded in the U.S. had more than doubled between 1999 and 2023.
As of August 2025, FEMA was evaluating whether to end or revise a grant program that states used for projects related to extreme heat. FEMA hasn't assessed how this change could affect its extreme heat response.
We made 4 recommendations, including that FEMA assess its role and capabilities for helping states handle extreme-heat events. This would allow FEMA to find gaps in its programs and decide whether and how to address them.
A stock photo showing a thermometer reading 40 degrees Celsius/104 degrees Fahrenheit against a bright sun in a red and orange sky with bright white clouds.
Highlights
What GAO Found
Between 2018 and 2024, 97 percent of counties across the contiguous U.S. were projected to reach at least level 3, a dangerous level of heat, by the National Weather Services’s HeatRisk, a 5-level index for potential heat-related effects. In addition, more than 319 million people lived under a forecast that was at a dangerous level for at least one day during this period of time.
Average Days per Year at HeatRisk Level 3 and Above by County, 2018-2024
FEMA has provided limited assistance to tribal, state, and local governments for projects to mitigate against extreme heat. For example, less than 1 percent of the agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIC) 1,235 grant projects with obligations from fiscal years 2020 through 2023 primarily addressed extreme heat.
Further, there has never been a presidentially declared major disaster for an extreme heat event, which would trigger federal assistance, such as damaged infrastructure, emergency protective measures for survivors, and mitigation assistance. According to FEMA, past extreme heat events have caused little infrastructure damage, a key criterion for approving federal assistance. FEMA officials told us that absent extraordinary circumstances, it was unlikely that a president would ever declare a major disaster for extreme heat. Agency officials reported providing some assistance for extreme heat when responding to other approved disasters, such as distributing commodities to Houston, Texas after Hurricane Beryl.
However, FEMA has not evaluated its role in helping tribal, state, and local governments to plan for and implement activities that reduce or mitigate future disaster losses from extreme heat events. Moreover, FEMA has also not assessed how its potential decision to end BRIC may affect the agency’s ability to assist these entities. Evaluating FEMA’s role and its capabilities for assisting tribal, state, and local governments to prepare, respond, and recover from extreme heat events would help the agency to fully identify any gaps in assisting these governments and determine how to best address them. The evaluation’s results could also be incorporated into any upcoming changes to FEMA’s role or reform efforts.
Why GAO Did This Study
According to the National Weather Service, extreme heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the U.S.—killing more people than floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined. These events are forecast to grow in intensity, frequency, and duration.
GAO was asked to examine the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) support for states and localities experiencing extreme heat events. This report examines (1) where forecast data projected extreme heat could occur; (2) the extent FEMA assisted Tribes, states, and localities to mitigate extreme heat; and (3) the extent that FEMA helped these entities respond to and recover from extreme heat events.
GAO reviewed FEMA documentation; analyzed heat index data from January 2018 through October 2024 and FEMA grant data from fiscal years 2020 through 2023; interviewed emergency management or public health officials, subject matter experts; and FEMA officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making four recommendations, including that FEMA evaluate its role, capabilities and address any program gaps to assist tribal, state and local governments to address extreme heat events. FEMA concurred with three recommendations but did not concur with one recommendation— to establish a plan to incorporate more extreme heat activities into its benefit-cost analysis processes. The agency stated it no longer plans to do this effort. Stakeholders reported that calculating extreme heat-related project benefits was a challenge. GAO maintains its recommendation could help FEMA alleviate the burden on communities to demonstrate their extreme heat projects’ cost-effectiveness.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The Administrator of FEMA should identify quantitative and qualitative evidence for tribal, state, and local governments to use to complete a benefit-cost analysis for projects addressing extreme heat. (Recommendation 1) |
In September 2025, we found that FEMA had taken some action to address challenges to collecting needed data and project benefits. However, the tribal, state, and local government officials we interviewed reported several challenges in conducting a benefit-cost analysis for extreme heat projects, including difficulty in obtaining the necessary data to complete a benefit-cost analysis, calculating project benefits, and measuring extreme heat impacts. We recommended FEMA identify quantitative and qualitative evidence for tribal, state, and local governments to use to complete a benefit-cost analysis for projects addressing extreme heat. FEMA concurred with our recommendation and stated that it would develop a plan to identify quantitative and qualitative evidence that tribal, state, and local jurisdictions may use to complete the Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) Toolkit to determine the cost-effectiveness of projects which mitigate extreme temperature. In May 2026, FEMA reported it was continuing to identify additional quantitative and qualitative evidence for determining the cost-effectiveness of projects to mitigate extreme temperatures. For example, FEMA reported the agency has worked to update its current BCA methodology reports, including for extreme temperatures, to enhance BCA Toolkit usability for tribal, state, and local governments. FEMA said it plans to publish updated BCA methodologies and guidelines, including republishing the accurate calculation of quantitative and qualitative evidence for extreme heat projects. FEMA estimated this work would be completed by December 31, 2026. We will continue to monitor the agency's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The Administrator of FEMA should establish a plan with a timeline and milestones to incorporate additional extreme heat activities into its benefit-cost analysis processes. (Recommendation 2) |
In September 2025, we reported that FEMA officials told us that they intended to add more hazard mitigation activities related to extreme heat to the agency's BCA toolkit. However, FEMA officials also told us they did not have any milestones or timelines to incorporate these activities into the agency's benefit-cost analysis process. Therefore, we recommended FEMA establish a plan with a timeline and milestones to incorporate additional extreme heat activities into its benefit-cost analysis processes. FEMA did not concur with this recommendation and stated in its response letter that it no longer planned to add more extreme heat activities into the benefit-cost analysis toolkit to mitigate extreme temperature. According to FEMA, this was because extreme temperature retrofits are not eligible as a stand-alone project type in the current Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guide. In May 2026, FEMA reiterated its non-concurrence with our recommendation and reported that it did not plan to develop a separate plan, timeline, or milestones to incorporate additional extreme heat activities into the BCA Toolkit or associated processes. We maintain that including more extreme heat-related activities in FEMA's benefit-cost analysis toolkit for applications could help alleviate the burden on communities that lack the expertise and resources to demonstrate cost-effectiveness. This is true even for retrofit projects that address extreme heat as a secondary or tertiary benefit under FEMA's current implementation of its hazard mitigation assistance programs. A plan with milestones and timelines for incorporating such activities into the toolkit would better assure that FEMA addresses the challenges interviewees reported in a timely manner. We will continue to monitor FEMA's implementation of this recommendation.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The Administrator of FEMA should identify mitigation projects with extreme heat as the primary focus and develop and distribute examples that model such projects. (Recommendation 3) |
In September 2025 we found that FEMA could also identify more examples of successful extreme heat mitigation projects to include in FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program application support material. We recommended FEMA identify mitigation projects with extreme heat as the primary focus and develop and distribute examples that model such projects. FEMA concurred and said that it would take alternative action to explore project types that may have secondary and tertiary benefits that mitigate extreme heat and will consider methods to share examples of these project types with tribal, state, and local governments as examples for applicants for hazard mitigation assistance. In May 2026, FEMA reported it had re-evaluated the planned alternative actions described in its response letter and will no longer develop and distribute examples of extreme heat project because of updated program guidance and current Administration priorities. In July 2026, DHS stated that it no longer concurred with the recommendation. The update stated that the more appropriate way to help applicants in developing mitigation projects related to extreme heat (for secondary or tertiary benefits) is through existing, all hazards technical assistance and guidance. As such, the agency no longer plans to create hazard specific examples for extreme heat. We maintain that implementing our recommendation could better help communities take action and demonstrate a sound business case for investing in risk reduction measures related to extreme heat. In doing so, it could also help alleviate the burden on communities that lack the expertise and resources to demonstrate cost-effectiveness.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The Administrator of FEMA should evaluate the agency's role and capabilities to identify any gaps in its programs for assisting tribal, state, and local governments to address extreme heat events, and identify and determine whether and how best to address any gaps. (Recommendation 4) |
In September 2025, we found that FEMA had not assessed how ending BRIC may affect its ability to assist tribal, state, and local governments to address the effects of extreme heat events. As a result, we recommended FEMA evaluate the agency's role and capabilities to identify any gaps in its programs for assisting tribal, state, and local governments to address extreme heat events, and identify and determine whether and how best to address any gaps. FEMA concurred and stated that its subject matter experts would continue to collect information on potential information and capability gaps in FEMA's response, mitigation, and preparedness capabilities. FEMA also stated that its leadership would evaluate and address such information collected by FEMA subject matter experts, as appropriate, and continue to assist tribal, state, and local governments build resilience through eligible activities and projects. In May 2026, FEMA stated a reevaluation of its role specific to extreme heat would be duplicative and did not believe it would materially improve its ability to assist partners. As a result, it does not plan to take any actions specific to this recommendation. In July 2026, FEMA stated that it no longer concurred with the recommendation and reiterated that a separate reevaluation of its role specific to extreme heat would be duplicative and not materially improve its ability to assist partners. Accordingly, FEMA does not plan additional actions specific to this recommendation. However, we maintain that conducting an evaluation that assesses its role and capabilities to assist these governments to address the effects of extreme heat events, including the potential effects of ending the BRIC program, would better ensure FEMA identifies any gaps in its assistance programs and determines whether and how best to address them. We will continue to monitor FEMA's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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