This article is part of the Spotlight Earth Refuge series in Philadelphia
During the summer of 2021, cities across the United States (‘US’) saw the temperature breaking the record to become a scientist who was said to be “almost impossible” to achieve without anthropogenic climate change. Cities are very exposed to extreme heat due to certain features that cause people in urban areas-especially low-income population-to bear the inappropriate burden of climate change.
What is the effect of city hot island?
The hot island is a urban area with higher temperatures than their surrounding area for a variety of reasons. For one, cities contain more man-made structures, such as buildings, roads, and dark roofs, which absorb and re-heat the sun more than natural land. In addition, more vehicles, more air conditioning units, and more industrial facilities all contribute to the effects of Heat Island that are felt in the city around the world.
The city of Philadelphia is a paradigmatic hot island. Since 1970, the average summer temperature of Philadelphia has increased by three degrees Fahrenheit (-16 ° C), leading to more extreme hot events. In the last fourteen years, heat -related events have led to nearly 150 deaths in Philadelphia. Such a great tragedy is expected to grow larger. Only last summer, Philadelphia declared heat health emergency, which only occurs from May to June when the temperature is expected to reach 101 ° F (38 ° C) or higher for two consecutive days, or 98 ° F (37 ° C) or higher for three or more consecutive days. This naming places services such as the city’s hot line in force and prevents any closure of the utility of the residence.
An unbalanced effect
Philadelphia is a very important hot island not only because the city is warmer overall, but also because in the city-like other-low-income and low-income communities with rising temperatures.
Philadelphia’s hunting garden neighborhood, one of the poorest areas of the city, is an illustration. This new report from the Philadelphia City Planning Commission shows that more than 75% of land protection in the hunting garden consists of buildings, roads, and paved surfaces. Instead, the tree canopy – which helps reduce heat – covers only 9% of the neighborhood. As a result, the neighborhood tends to be warmer than the average urban temperature: average surface temperature data shows that the hunting garden can be 22 ° F (-6 ° C) warmer than other neighborhoods.
The differences in the landscape between the hunting park and the entire city are due to redlining, a systematic penalty of financial services to the people of certain areas is usually based on race. Redlining largely influenced the historical housing policy of the United States that led to the remaining residence today. Research shows that surface temperature in the previous neighborhood in urban areas across the country tends to be up to 36 ° F (2 ° C) warmer than an unstable area. Although this trend is most noticeable in the southeast and western cities in the United States, the Philadelphia heat index indicates that they are consistent in Philadelphia as well.
An effective solution
Fortunately, action can still be taken to a more regional level to combat the impact of urban hot islands. The two simplest solutions are to increase the number of white roofs and increase the tree cover. Data from the center of clean air base shows that the white or light roof can reflect up to 80% of the sun compared to the heat absorption of 70% black roof, in turn allowing the home to stay at lower temperatures.
Adding more tree canopies will also go a long way. The trees tend to absorb anywhere from 70 to 90% of the sun in the summer, and 20 to 90% of the sun in the winter, leading to decreasing temperatures in the hunting garden and other fast heating.
Although both solutions require large investment, the benefits exceed the cost. In fact, data shows that more trees benefit from storm water and increase property value. More importantly, investment in reducing the impact of urban hot islands and climate change generally represents a small piece of major efforts owed to the less concerned community. As climate migration continues to drive the public to seek protection in the city, it is increasingly important to ensure that the city is ready to provide this type of resource to the current and future residents.