Several local governments and community groups in the Reno-Sparks area are collaborating to map urban heat islands, with leadership from University professor Tom Albright. This initiative is part of a broader effort by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development. CAPA Strategies provides technical support.
“Urban heat islands are when urbanized areas have higher temperatures than outlying rural areas,” explained Albright, who is also Nevada State Climatologist.
Albright’s team includes agencies such as the Desert Research Institute, City of Reno, City of Sparks, Northern Nevada Public Health, and Washoe County. The project addresses climate change impacts on Reno, noted as the fastest warming city in the U.S., where rising temperatures pose significant health risks.
“Sometimes heat is more of a ‘silent killer’ as it isn’t always obvious to people suffering heat-related illnesses that heat has anything to do with it,” Albright said.
Community volunteers will assist in data collection during mid-to-late summer by attaching temperature sensors to their vehicles or bikes along designated routes.
“With Washoe County residents bearing the brunt of rising heat…it’s important to know how and where we can take action to reverse these trends,” stated Brian Beffort, Sustainability Manager for Washoe County.
The campaign emphasizes supporting disadvantaged communities in urbanized areas with high temperatures and poor air quality. John Mejia from DRI highlighted that this dataset aids discussions on urban environmental equity by revealing temperature variability across sectors.
“This campaign will illuminate the considerable variability in surface temperatures across the Reno-Sparks area,” Mejia noted.
NOAA’s Heat Island Mapping Campaign has been active globally for eight years. In 2022, Clark County participated. Data collected is publicly accessible on HEAT.gov.
To follow updates on this initiative, use #RenoSparksHeatMap on social media. For nationwide information, subscribe to the Heat Beat Newsletter or follow #UrbanHeatMaps2024 online.
The campaign is funded under the Biden Administration’s Justice40 initiative focused on delivering federal investment benefits to disadvantaged communities.
