What are Charlotte hottest spots? Survey intends to reveal dangerous ‘heat islands’
It has long been assumed the hottest parts of Charlotte are wedged between the concrete and steel of Uptown, but federal officials say the question must be addressed — for the sake of vulnerable neighborhoods that may prove even hotter.
This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration named Charlotte one of 14 U.S. cities that will participate in “an urban heat island mapping campaign” this summer.
In mid-July, an army of volunteers will be launched across Charlotte with sensors that will measure temperature and humidity in specific neighborhoods during morning, afternoon and evening.
If Charlotte is anything like other communities in the program, city leaders may discover disadvantaged neighborhoods are among the hottest and most dangerous for vulnerable people, NOAA says.
“The cities and counties selected this year have a range of experiences with extreme heat,” NOAA says. “Identifying these areas, called urban heat islands, helps communities take action to reduce the health impacts of extreme heat and provides cooling relief for those living in the hottest areas.”
Why Charlotte?
July was chosen because it’s typically the hottest, driest month in Charlotte, with temperatures of 90 degrees and above for days at a time.
A specific day hasn’t been picked, but it will likely be July 12, 13 or 14, according to Katherine Idziorek, an assistant professor in geography at UNC Charlotte who filed the application to include Charlotte in the NOAA program.
She moved to Charlotte from the north in 2021 and quickly discovered “the summer heat and humidity are intense.”
“One of the most exciting aspects of this mapping campaign is that the mobile sensors capture data more or less at the height of a person instead of measuring ground surface temperature — so this data will reflect more accurately how people actually experience heat in different areas of the city,” she told The Charlotte Observer.
“The data we collect in the mapping campaign has the potential to support a range of local policy initiatives, from identifying the places where new trees are most needed to locating emergency cooling shelters to informing the implementation of 10-minute neighborhoods.”
NOAA funding is enough to cover 100 square miles of Charlotte.
Researchers suspect neighborhoods that have seen more investment will be the coolest, while neighborhoods with less investment and fewer amenities may be warmer.
Revelations in the data could save lives, she said, and those most impacted will include children, older adults, outdoor workers, people experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities and lower-income communities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 1,220 people in the country are killed annually by extreme heat.
“We know the places that tend to be the hottest are areas with fewer trees, less vegetation, more dark-colored pavement, and more heat-absorbing building materials,” said Idziorek, who is community planning coordinator.
“These conditions tend to be concentrated in historically under invested communities, such as areas that were redlined, as well as in industrial areas and along highly urbanized transportation corridors. We would suspect those parts of the city are likely to be hotter relative to other areas.”
Data may surprise
NOAA began the heat mapping program in 2017 and among the surprises is some large cities have had 20-plus degree disparity in different sides of town, according to Morgan Zabow, the NOAA Community Heat and Health Information Coordinator.
“I’m from the Southeast and it’s very common for people in the Southeast to be used to the heat. But while it has always been hot, it’s getting hotter. Heat events are increasing in intensity and duration,” Zabow told McClatchy News.
“Charlotte is a fast growing city and with so many more people moving there, it’s important to address the heat. In some cities, like Chicago, they saw a 22-degree difference in neighborhoods.”
It will take about two months to compile the data revealing Charlotte’s heat islands. UNC Charlotte will make the data public to help local governments and advocacy organizations pursue “development and implementation of policies that reduce the inequitable impacts of extreme heat.”
Other cities in the program have used the maps to prioritize new parks, add shade structures to bus stops, offer low-cost air conditioning assistance, plant trees and “improve heat warning systems,” NOAA says.
“With urban heat, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Every community is different,” Zabow said.
How to help
Eighty to 100 volunteers are needed for the heat mapping program, officials say.
Anyone interested in helping should email heatmappers@charlotte.edu and fill out a volunteer interest form at bit.ly/CharlotteHeatMappersInterestForm.
Licensed drivers with automobiles and insurance are needed to deploy the sensors over three shifts. There is a parent/legal guardian sign-off with the volunteer waiver for volunteers under the age of 18.
“We will also be recruiting navigators who will ride along, provide navigation assistance, and take notes as well as folks to help staff the test hubs and organize volunteers,” Idziorek said.
“Volunteers typically drive one route but may choose to do more if they like. We will definitely work with volunteers to try to pair them with a route in their community.”
NOAA has funded CAPA Strategies to provide the sensors, and help design the routes that will be used by volunteers.
The Charlotte survey is backed by a coalition of more than 20 community organizations, nonprofits and government agencies, with support from UNC Charlotte’s Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geographical Sciences.
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