When dangerous heat waves hit cities, better risk communication could save lives
On June 25, 2022, Esteban Chavez, Jr., started his day like any other, working his route in Pasadena, Calif., as a driver for UPS. But the city was in the middle of an intense heat wave, and by midafternoon the temperature was higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. After completing his last delivery of the day, Chavez collapsed off his seat in the cab of the truck. He went unnoticed for 20 minutes before the homeowner at his delivery location saw him and sought medical assistance.
Discriminatory Policies and Urban Hotspots Between 1880, when precise recordkeeping began, and 1980, average temperatures worldwide rose by about 0.13 degree F every 10 years. Since 1981 the rate of increase has more than doubled, and for the past 40 years global annual temperatures have increased by 0.32 degree F per decade. Although the pace of the increase might seem relatively slow, it signals a dramatic shift, and the cumulative effects on the planet are huge.
The term “redlining” denotes the assignment of grades to residential areas based on their racial composition; the lower-graded neighborhoods were less likely to receive investments, and people living in them had a harder time obtaining loans. The redlining practice grew from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's federally funded New Deal, which enforced segregation practices.
Given the scope of the problem, how can we lessen the negative effects of extreme heat events on historically vulnerable urban communities? At Howard University's NOAA Cooperative Science Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, my colleagues and I are interested in understanding how people process risk associated with extreme heat and respond to heat advisories.
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