News

The Southern Arizona Heat Summit (February 7, 2026) convened its third annual regional workshop focusing on practical solutions to extreme heat in southern Arizona communities. SCORCH joined the City of Tucson/Tucson Resilient Together, Pima County Health Department (PCHD), Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, National Weather Service – Tuson Office, and other community organizations, members, leaders, and experts for a daylong summit to focus on extreme heat in southern Arizona communities and explore health risk and mitigation strategies.

As part of SCORCH’s Green Space and Health research project, we sat down with Dr. Maiya Block Ngaybe, postdoctoral research associate at the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, to discuss her VIVA Photovoice study exploring how green spaces affect health in Tucson. The project culminates in a public photography exhibition on March 31.

SCORCH is pleased to announce awardees for its 2026 funding cycle supporting pilot projects that advance innovative work at the intersection of extreme weather and its impact on health. Three proposals were selected for funding in the amount of $50K each, responding to two tracks: Innovative Extreme Weather & Health Research and Applied Climate & Health Action Community Partnership Research.

The SCORCH team attended the 3rd Annual Arizona Heat Summit, November 19, 2025, in alignment with the center's ongoing commitment to advancing climate-health research, partnership, and community-driven solutions across Arizona. The summit, hosted by the Arizona Department of Health Services, convened state agencies, local governments, public health departments, utilities, tribal representatives, and academic partners to examine the public health impacts of extreme heat and to share models for mitigation and response.

SCORCH was pleased to support Heat and Health French-American Innovation Days (FAID), November 12–13, 2025, sponsored by the French Consulate of Los Angeles, France Science, UA France–Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). The two-day event held at UA Tucson campus brought together more than 60 researchers, students, and community partners from Arizona, France, and and other arid regions across the US for an opportunity to exchange ideas, build new collaborations, and strengthen international efforts to address the growing health impacts of extreme heat.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting is an event that draws over 11,000 public health practitioners, researchers, and organizations each year.  This year, three SCORCH students had the opportunity to attend and present at the national convening held November 2 – 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Kendra Martinez, Imran Mithu, and Royani Saha reflected on their experiences.

Ironwood Tree Experience (ITE) – a 2025 award recipient of SCORCH's Community Implementation Pilot Project – collaborated with the University of Arizona’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health SCORCH faculty to engage 60 youth across Tucson and Southern Arizona to learn how rising temperatures and the effects of climate change are impacting young people and their communities. Based on survey responses, ITE then hosted a Youth Climate Health Workshop to explore themes and identify solutions for building resilience in their communities.

The Southwest Center for Resilience in Climate Change and Health (SCORCH) is pleased to announce two calls for proposals from both community organizations and UA faculty researchers to pilot projects implementing solutions to mitigate the challenges posed by climate change and its impact on health in arid lands. Understanding and addressing health inequities experienced by under-resourced and underserved communities in arid lands in the US Southwest and abroad is critical to the SCORCH mission.

Reflections on the joint ISES/ISEE 2025 Conference by Imran Mithu, SCORCH Graduate Research Associate.