Meh, this is still probably all your fault
Where the most U.S. residents bake because of concrete and lack of trees
All U.S. cities experience some level of “heat island effect,” in which heat reflects off hard surfaces, intensifying the impact of the hottest days. But as climate change intensifies, nine U.S. cities are special islands unto themselves, according to an analysis released Wednesday that coincides with a heat wave enveloping much of the nation.
The nine — New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, San Antonio, San Diego, Phoenix and Detroit — each have more than 1 million residents enduring temperature increases of 8 degrees or more, because of the heat island effect. That’s according to Climate Central, a nonprofit science and news organization, which has sought to create a broad snapshot of the largest urban populations at risk.
“Anyone who steps out on a sunny sidewalk can feel the difference from when they are in their yard,” Jen Brady, Climate Central senior data analyst, said in an interview. “Obviously, in the city there’s fewer trees, fewer yards and more sunny sidewalks. Those places are going to be warmer. What we’ve tried to do with this analysis is quantify it.”
Forty-one million residents among all nine cities experience the temperature boost, some up to 10 degrees or more, exposing them to higher risks of heat-related illness and more expensive cooling costs, the study found. Climate Central’s analysis did not include demographic data, Brady said, but other organizations such as the D.C. Policy Center have conducted research showing that lower-income communities face disproportionate impact from the heat island effect, partly because their neighborhoods often lack trees.
It’s certainly factual that the Earth has warmed since around 1850, when the Little Ice Age ended. And, surely, some of it is caused globally by the release of greenhouse gases by Mankind. Yet, a goodly chunk of the warming, and perceived warming, goes to land use (you can’t cover up tons of land with pavement, concrete, and buildings without an effect) and the Urban Heat Island effect. And when that extra heat is measured along with the true warming it elevates what the real warming actually is.
