Global Heat Resilience Service continues to build momentum

As we move through 2025, the Global Heat Resilience Service (GHRS) is making significant strides in the fight against extreme heat. From securing key partnerships to advancing our decision-support platform, we’re accelerating efforts to help cities worldwide protect their populations from rising temperatures.

Here’s what’s new with GHRS:

A major milestone

GHRS included in the GEO Work Programme

We’re excited to announce that GHRS has been formally accepted into the Post-2025 GEO Work Programme as a Pilot Initiative. This integration places GHRS within three critical focus areas:

• Climate, energy, and urbanisation – Addressing heat resilience in the context of growing cities.
• One Health – Recognising the direct impact of extreme heat on human health.
• Weather, hazard, and disaster resilience – Aligning with global efforts to strengthen preparedness.

This milestone solidifies GHRS’s role in international collaboration, ensuring our work aligns with GEO’s strategic priorities.

Advancing our three core components

Component 1: Methodology development

(March 2025 - June 2027)

We've made substantial progress in developing scientific methodologies for urban-scale heat-risk assessment. Funded by the European Union, the iClimateAction initiative strengthens collaboration between the Global Climate Observing System, World Meteorological Organization and GEO to streamline how climate data is collected, managed and transformed into decision-ready insights.

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Component 2: Decision-support platform development

(March 2025 - March 2027)

GEO has formalised a partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group to collaboratively develop the Global Heat Resilience Service (GHRS). This partnership is accelerating the development of a digital decision-support platform for extreme heat through a recent IBM Sustainability Accelerator Grant awarded to C40. GEO will provide technical expertise to this project, allowing us to test key GHRS concepts.

This collaboration is backed by up to $3 million in resources, including direct funding, access to advanced technology, and expert consulting services. The development of the GHRS decision-support platform follows IBM’s proven Garage methodology for digital transformation. The implementation will roll out in two key phases:

• MVP Development (March 2025 – March 2026): The first phase focuses on designing, creating, and testing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
• Scale-Up Phase (March 2026 – March 2027): Based on pilot feedback and evaluation, this phase will expand the implementation to ensure broader impact.

To ensure effectiveness, GHRS will be tested in pilot cities across multiple regions, including Brazil, India, Sierra Leone and Europe. The initiative has also received endorsement from the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, reinforcing its alignment with global urban resilience efforts.

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Component 3: Heat governance and policy

(Building evidence for improved urban heat management.)

While GHRS is actively seeking dedicated funding for its heat governance and policy component, several key collaborations are already underway. GHRS is contributing to WMO-UNDRR’s Heat Solutions Package, helping to develop a common framework for UN agencies responding to extreme heat challenges. This ensures that GHRS aligns with broader international governance approaches.

In parallel, the team is exploring alignment with existing city climate action planning frameworks to ensure seamless integration. Efforts are also focused on developing comprehensive business cases to attract potential funding partners. Additionally, GHRS is engaging with city networks to better understand governance needs and inform future policy solutions.

Looking ahead

The IBM Sustainability Accelerator partnership represents a transformative step forward in creating an AI-powered solution to help cities analyze heat risks and develop effective adaptation strategies. As temperatures rise and cities grow, this solution will become increasingly essential for protecting vulnerable populations and urban economies.

In the coming months, our focus will be on:

1. Launching the implementation of Components 1 and 2
2. Securing additional partnerships for Component 3
3. Expanding our network of pilot cities
4. Developing communication materials to raise awareness of heat risks

GHRS will continue its mission to provide actionable intelligence that helps cities address the estimated 500,000 excess deaths per year caused by extreme heat, with particular focus on vulnerable urban communities.

Catch us next at the GEO Global Forum in Rome in May and then the UNDRR Global Platform in Geneva in June. Additional outreach opportunities being explored at New York Climate Week and the C40 Mayor's Summit in Rio.

For more information or to explore partnership opportunities, please contact Martyn Clark at mclark@geosec.org.