Heat Mapping Watch Program Being Launched in RI

Heat Mapping Watch Program Being Launched in RI

Rhode Island agencies are teaming up with CAPA Strategies, the tech firm that created Heat Watch which provides high-resolution descriptions and mapping of urban heat “across the ambient environment through a coordinated data-collection  campaign with local communities and organizations.”

To better understand how extreme heat disproportionately impacts communities in Rhode Island — how much heat is absorbed by urban areas —the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), and American Forests have launched the Rhode Island Heat Watch Program, a community health mapping project.

The Rhode Island Heat Watch Program will organize community volunteers to measure heat and humidity in four Rhode Island municipalities—Central Falls, East Providence, Pawtucket, and Providence—during four one-hour blocks between 6 a.m. and midnight on July 29th. Fourteen cities across the country are participating in similar data collection efforts. Rhode Island is the first state to collect heat distribution data during the night to reveal which areas aren’t cooling off enough overnight.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

“In urban areas nationwide, trees can help prevent heat-related deaths and illnesses by lowering temperatures and counteracting the urban heat island effect, in which darkly colored surface materials such as roads and rooftops, absorb heat and make their urban surroundings warmer," said Ian Leahy, Vice President of Urban Forestry at American Forests. “Knowing which neighborhoods are experiencing higher temperatures and which populations are being impacted disproportionately can help cities determine where trees are needed the most. Given that a 10-fold increase in heat-related deaths is expected in the eastern U.S. by 2050, the Rhode Island Heat Watch Program serves as a model for how other urban areas can prepare for and respond to extreme heat.”

Over 600 people in the United States die from extreme heat each year. Heat-related illnesses happen when the body is not able to cool itself and the heat causes damage to the brain and other vital organs. Communities that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat include older adults, children, and places where median incomes are lower. Rising temperatures are exacerbated in urban areas with man-made materials that absorb sunlight and reduce green space. As a result, urban areas tend to have higher average temperatures than surrounding towns.

Volunteers will use specially designed thermal sensors mounted on cars to collect ambient air temperature and humidity data. Once data are collected, sensors are shipped to CAPA Heat Watch, an external partner who combines these data with satellite imagery to create high-resolution maps for use by Rhode Island communities and state agencies.