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Mapping geographic heat inequities in urban areas

Heat kills more Americans annually than any other weather-related event, but not everyone’s risk is the same. Mapping geographic heat inequities was the goal of the Omaha Urban Heat Watch Project, a community-led campaign led by Jesse Bell, Ph.D., DWFI director of water, climate and health, and Abdoulaziz Abdoulaye, a Ph.D. student in public health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). The project is conducted by the UNMC College of Public Health and the Water, Climate and Health Program.

The project is part of a larger sponsored effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the interagency National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) and CAPA Strategies LLC. Omaha is one of 14 U.S. cities participating in the 2022 Heat Mapping Campaign to raise awareness about extreme heat and urban heat islands.

“In urban environments, you see an increase in heat as you move more into the metro area, there’s more concrete, less green space, and that causes more extreme heat,” said Bell in a recent interview with WOWT News 6.

The hottest spots of cities are typically in underserved communities. A key focus of the project is to compare heat distribution in areas of Omaha that were redlined in the 1900s to areas that were not historically segregated to determine where heat inequities exist.

“This is interesting because this is not only public health, we are talking about all the social determinants [of health]” said Abdoulaye.

Using heat sensors mounted on their own cars, over 100 community volunteers navigated their neighborhoods in the morning, afternoon and evening on the hot, summer day. The sensors recorded temperature, humidity, time, and geographic coordinates every second.

The team plans to disseminate results later this Fall. In the long-term, Bell and Abdoulaye hope the results can be used to develop heat action plans, add cooling stations to bus shelters, educate residents and policymakers and inform new research.

The Omaha Urban Heat Watch Project was led by Dr. Jesse Bell and PhD student, Abdoulaziz Abdoulaye. Partner organizations included NOAA, NIHHIS, the National Weather Service UNMC’s YES! Youth Enjoy Science program, and The Simple Foundation.

FY 2022 Annual Report

FY 2022 Annual Report

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