Cities facing scorching heat waves are turning to scientists to understand how people react.
Officials in Miami and New York City said they need more insight into how the heatwave is affecting the homeless and other vulnerable populations.
June 21, 2024: Residents of Long Island City, New York, cool off with sprinklers as temperatures soar.
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
ClimateWire | Cities across the U.S. want more research from scientists to help them cope with extreme heat, especially how high temperatures affect human behavior and health.
That’s the message from a panel discussion Wednesday at Columbia University, where officials in Miami and New York City shared a wish list of heat research, and social research centered on high-risk populations was at the top of the list.
The use of cooling centers, particularly who uses them and why, was a key issue for Isabel Thomas, a policy adviser to the New York City mayor.
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“Why do people go to cooling centers? Why don’t people go to cooling centers?” she asked. “What is their perception of urgency, or lack thereof, in relation to extreme heat?”
She noted that some communities, including outdoor workers and the homeless, are at greater risk from soaring temperatures. Better insight into the experiences of these vulnerable populations could help decision makers create more effective heat-related policies.
“There is still a lack of data in New York City on occupational heat exposure and health effects, particularly for food vendors, delivery workers, and other workers outside the city,” Thomas said.
Jane Gilbert, Miami-Dade County’s chief heat manager, said the city also needs better data on how many people die or get sick from heat-related illnesses. Currently, those estimates are often grossly underestimated.
Extreme temperatures can directly lead to heatstroke, heatstroke, or death. These cases are easy to spot. However, heat can also have indirect effects on human health, such as worsening existing health conditions, increasing the risk of workplace injuries, or affecting mental health. These indirect effects are often not recorded on hospitalization records or death certificates.
“The direct heat-related deaths, illnesses and hospitalizations are really just the tip of the iceberg of health impacts,” Gilbert said.
Research that investigates how many people are actually hospitalized or die from extreme heat, where it occurs, and which populations are most affected could help policymakers design better protections for vulnerable communities.
“A contextual understanding of where these diseases and deaths are, where exposures are occurring, is critical to how we design and prioritize interventions,” Gilbert said.
Intensifying urban heat island phenomenon
Cities are worst affected by the heatwave, thanks to a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect: urban centers are often hotter than their rural surroundings, due to higher population densities, more asphalt, darker surfaces, and fewer trees.
Even within the same city, there are stark differences in density and access to green space between neighborhoods. And studies show that low-income families and people of color are more likely to More likely to live in a hot neighborhood.
This puts cities on the front lines of heat adaptation, with vulnerable populations facing the greatest risk.
Both New York and Miami have implemented heat-control plans aimed at expanding cooling resources and curbing urban temperature rises.
Miami’s plan calls for improved emergency response to heat waves, increased access to air conditioning, and expanded tree canopy coverage in the county. New York officials also want to increase the city’s tree cover and are working to establish maximum indoor temperature policies for schools and other facilities.
Other cities across the country have their own plans.
Like Miami, Phoenix and Los Angeles have hired top heat managers. Cities from Philadelphia to Houston have designed emergency response plans for heat waves and developed plans to increase heat resilience. Even King County, Washington, which includes Seattle, developed its first extreme heat mitigation strategy after the record-breaking Pacific Northwest heat dome of 2021.
But experts say more action is needed as temperatures rise.
“Our lives have to change, our lifestyles have to change, and the way we do business and our daily lives in hot weather has to change,” Thomas said. “But it doesn’t have to be the worst. I think there are a lot of opportunities to change the way we experience our daily lives to adapt to extreme heat and stay safe.”
Reprinted from E&E News Permitted by POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
