The Arizona Department of Health Services has named a doctor working on ways to reduce the effects of extreme heat in the arid Southwest state as the nation's first statewide heat officer.
PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Health Services has named a physician working on ways to reduce the effects of extreme heat in the arid Southwest state as the nation's first statewide heat officer.
The Arizona Department of Health Services announced Wednesday that Dr. Eugene River has been appointed to the role under Gov. Katie Hobbs' heat wave response plan.
Livar has been with the state Department of Health since 2012, most recently as deputy director of public health preparedness. In that role, he contributed to the state's heat response plan.
Underscoring the dangers of an increasingly hotter climate, Arizona's most populous county has seen well over 400 heat-related deaths after the region's hottest summer on record. It rapidly increased beyond . Maricopa County is the hottest metropolitan area in the United States and is home to Phoenix.
The cities of Phoenix and Miami have their own heat officers who oversee how to protect people and entire communities from extreme heat as climate change makes heat waves more frequent and longer.
Phoenix, the hottest metropolis in the United States, will also have a heat preparedness and resiliency task force aimed at protecting people and helping them cope with hot weather through programs like cooling stations and increased tree planting. I have an office.
