Every summer in the U.S., you can look at the news and see record-breaking temperatures in every state, and large cities are feeling the heat. For example, Black low-income communities across New York—specifically in Queens and Brooklyn—understand this issue firsthand. This challenge was intensified by the loss of NOAA climate data in May.
Large cities endure the worst due to the urban heat island effect, where the industrial environment absorbs heat and lacks vegetation and water bodies to counter the effect. New York is a prime example. This past June, Central Park hit 99 degrees—the hottest since records began in 1869. Many heat-related illnesses, and even death, can occur when a person is exposed to high temperatures for a period that the body cannot regulate.
Low-income families are at risk because their homes may have poor infrastructure and little to no air conditioning due to cost. Natural disasters not only hit these communities the hardest but also push them further into poverty. Brooklyn and Queens have the highest age-adjusted death rates from heat illness in New York City. Their relationship with heat-related illness and death can be traced back to the 1930s and 40s when neighborhoods were redlined.
Black New Yorkers are twice as likely to die from heat stress as white New Yorkers. The most accessible option is to get involved locally: email your state representative, join an advisory board, propose turning a dirt lot into a community garden, and plant more trees. Green infrastructure helps reduce the urban heat island effect.