FAQ: Harlem and the Urban Heat Island Effect
Thermal imaging of New York’s Times Square helps to demonstrate the urban heat island effect (Photo courtesy Nickolay Lamm, NickolayLamm.com).
UPDATED (as of July 21): One of the deadliest impacts of climate change is also one of the most overlooked — extreme heat kills more Americans each year than all the other natural disasters combined.
Heatwaves are especially problematic in areas with a lot of concrete and little vegetation to cool things off: Read big cities. And within those cities, it’s the poorer neighborhoods, high in industry and low in air conditioners, that are hit the hardest.
Harlem, in particular, has some of the highest temperatures in the city and is home to the most vulnerable populations. It’s a big problem that gets little attention.
Here’s what you need to know:
