Deadly Temperatures Soar In America’s Heat Island Cities
In Climate Centrals’ analysis of summer temperature increases in 242 American cities, the authors created the term “heat islands.” Within urban areas, these can be caused by buildings and streets that reflect heat or dense population. Researchers looked at 65 US cities and 37,094 Census blocks.
“Across the 65 cities, the total population living in census block groups with a UHI index of 8°F or higher is nearly 34 million — or 68% of the 50 million people included in this analysis.” New York (+9.7 degrees F), San Francisco (+9.4), and Newark (+9.0) topped the list.
Danger To Human Lives
In the hottest parts of these cities, where the overall temperature reaches 90 degrees, some urban areas may experience temperatures as high as 97 degrees. Adding in a heat index, the figure could be 100. At that level, certain portions of the population cannot survive for days at a time. This is particularly true with people with preexisting conditions or those who work outside. Very often, these people do not have access to air conditioning.
Climate Central has several possible solutions. “Planting street trees and installing cool roofs and pavements are among the ways to reduce local heat islands.” The challenge is that most major cities lack the budget to make these alterations.
America’s cities, particularly in some parts of downtown, are getting hotter. Economically, there is no solution.
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