USA Today Suddenly Discovers The Urban Heat Island Effect

The reality of the Urban Heat Island effect, along with land use, are actually huge drivers of the notion that the world is a lot hotter than it actually is. Step out of those cities, and the temperature drops quickly

Urban heat islands are why it can feel 20 degrees hotter in different parts of the same city

Does it feel sweltering in your neighborhood, yet pleasant at the park a few blocks away? You might be living on an urban heat island.

The effect happens when neighborhoods in highly developed cities like New York and New Orleans become 15 to 20 degrees hotter by mid-afternoon than surrounding areas with fewer buildings and more vegetation, according to the National Integrated Heat Health Information System.

“If you walk into Central Park, it’s going to feel cooler most likely in the summer than standing on the black pavement just outside the park’s boundaries,” said Joan Casey, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

The hell you say! I was hiking in Hillsborough yesterday, and it was cooler in the forest, especially at the top of Occoneeche state park, about 370 feet. As soon as I left and got back into the more suburbanized areas it felt warmer. Go from Raleigh out to the more rural areas of Wake County and the temperature will go down.

Extreme heat remains the most deadly weather event, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and research suggests high temperatures affect lower-income communities the most.

Here’s what to know about the impact of urban heat islands.

Aaaaand they turn it into a race thing. Because it’s a cult based on far left beliefs.

Opting for reflective or permeable cooler pavements, planting more trees and installing vegetation-covered green roofs are some ways communities are fighting the heat, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Heat Island Community Actions Database suggests. It tracks city and state extreme-heat mitigation measures.

Those are actually not bad ideas.

Some legislators have proposed bills to combat extreme heat impacts, like the Preventing Health Emergencies And Temperature-related (HEAT) Illness and Deaths Act, which was reintroduced in 2021 after its initial proposal in 2020.

Senators Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Alex Padilla of California said the act would strengthen and expand interagency efforts to address high temperatures, provide $100 million in financial aid for community projects to reduce extreme heat exposure and issue recommendations for federal action on heat-health issues.

Stop putting everything in the hands of Los Federales. Let cities and states deal with their own issues.

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4 Responses to “USA Today Suddenly Discovers The Urban Heat Island Effect”

  1. Dana says:

    Where are the ‘official’ temperatures recorded? Most often it’s taken at the airport! Airports are heavily paved, though usually with concrete, which is more reflected than asphalt. They have larger buildings, with a lot of glass.

    Out here in the countryside, with my house about 200 yards from the river, it tends to be a bit cooler in the summer and a bit warmer in the winter.

  2. Hairy says:

    Dana there are over 10000 official surface weather observation sites in the USA
    Urban heat effect on global Temps?
    80% of the surface is water
    Of the remaining 20%, 0.5% is urban
    Thus the total urban heat effect is insignificant to GLOBAL Temps

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