As temperatures rise across the country, municipalities are turning to heat officers to address risks of extreme heat.
For most of his career, David Hondula worked as a professor and environmental science researcher at Arizona State University studying the impact of the changing climate.
Now, he is on the front lines for Phoenix putting what he knows into practice.
Nearly a year ago, Hondula was hired by the city to become its first director of heat response and mitigation. His job: To steer the city’s efforts to address the impact of increasingly extreme heat on the sprawling desert metropolis.