MCHD Smartphone App Adds “Heat Risk” Feature

The Mobile County Health Department’s (MCHD) smartphone app has recently been updated to include a new tool to track local “Heat Risk.” The tool is a health-based heat forecast developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It integrates health and temperature data to deliver a seven-day outlook for hot weather. “Heat Risk” uses a five-level scale to indicate how risky the heat level is in a specific area. Each level uses a color to represent risks from heat exposure. The new tool can be found on the MCHD smartphone app by navigating to the home page, clicking on the “MORE” Section and then selecting the newly added tab called “CDC Heat Risk Dashboard.” Family Health, the primary care division of MCHD, hopes the tool will help the community navigate the heat this summer to prevent and protect against heat-related illnesses and dangerous exposure.