MOBILE, Ala. — As the summer season approaches, those within our community must take steps to protect themselves from high heat exposure.

Heat-related illnesses can occur when the body is exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods. These conditions can range from mild to severe and life-threatening and can include heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.

The highest temperature recorded in Mobile in 2023 was 106 °F which happened on August 26, and 2024 is predicted to reach the same level of record-setting heat. In the United States, the percentage of population living in areas exposed to dangerous heat is highest in the South.

The Mobile County Health Department’s 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 7-day outlook for hot weather. “Heat Risk” uses a 5-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 “Heat Risk” tool will help the community navigate the heat this summer to prevent and protect against any heat related illnesses and dangerous exposure.

The app is available to download for free in the App Store and Google Play. Search “My MCHD Health Check” or use the following link to download the app — https://apps.myocv.com/share/a65536603. The app can be used in both English and Spanish.