Biden is rolling out some new actions aimed at protecting people from extreme heat

President Biden on Thursday is is set to announce new actions aimed at protecting communities from extreme heat, and will meet with mayors from two cities grappling with high temperatures.

Biden is asking the Department of Labor to issue a hazard alert for dangerous conditions in industries like agriculture and construction, where workers face a greater risk of injury and death from extreme heat — and the department plans to boost inspections in those sectors, the White House said.

The president will also highlight $152 million for water storage and pipelines for drought-stricken communities in western states, and $7 million for improving weather forecasts, the White House said.

The announcement comes on a day when Washington, D.C., is under a heat advisory. Biden will be joined at the White House event by the mayors of Phoenix and San Antonio to discuss the impacts of the extreme weather conditions on their cities.

Climate activists have urged Biden to use his emergency powers to take bolder measures to restrict fossil fuel production.

"Real relief won't come until Biden confronts the culprit of deadly fossil fuels," said Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity, who called the new announcements "incremental."

"Biden has extraordinary powers to protect Americans from more apocalyptic heat, floods and storms by phasing out the oil and gas that are driving these disasters," Su said.

The White House has emphasized Biden's track record on investing in clean energy through last year's Inflation Reduction Act.

"He's taken more action, has been more aggressive on dealing with climate change than any other president," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday.

"He has an ambitious agenda to deal with climate change, and he's going to move forward with that agenda," she said. [Copyright 2023 NPR]