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Covering Climate Now: COP26
Phoenix — the hottest big city in the U.S. — hires first-ever heat mitigation officer
Resume![David Hondula is the first-ever heat mitigation officer for the city of Phoenix. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)](https://wordpress.wbur.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/IMG_2120-1000x750.jpg)
With summer temperatures soaring, can Phoenix turn down the heat? The hottest big city in America has just hired its first-ever heat mitigation officer.
David Hondula will be charged with lowering urban temperatures to avoid heat-related deaths, which have soared to new records in recent years.
Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with Hondula in a South Phoenix neighborhood where residents are more likely to die of heat-related illness.
![Longtime Phoenix resident Mario Moreno doesn’t think the city’s efforts to fight rising temperatures will work. (Peter O'Dowd/Here & Now)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2021/11/IMG_2127-1000x750.jpg)
This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a project aimed at strengthening the media’s focus on the climate crisis. WBUR is one of 400+ news organizations that have committed to a week of heightened coverage around the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Check out all our coverage here.
This segment aired on November 10, 2021.