Urban Heat Island Mapping

On some of the hottest days of summer, NOAA-sponsored teams of scientists and citizen scientists conduct field campaigns to measure and map the urban heat islands of selected cities. The two main purposes are to (1) produce very detailed maps of those cities' urban heat islands so that (2) residents and city officials can consider whether and how they may want to take actions to protect people and property from the risks associated with exposure to extreme heat. In previous years' campaigns, participants observed some parts of Baltimore, Richmond, and Washington, DC, were as much as 17°F hotter than others parts of those cities during the same time of day.