Cities to scientists: Help us tackle extreme heat

By Chelsea Harvey | 07/11/2024 06:24 AM EDT

Miami and New York City officials say they need more insight into how searing temperatures affect the unhoused and other vulnerable populations.

A tour guide fans herself while working in Times Square amid a heat wave last summer in New York City.

A tour guide fans herself while working in Times Square amid a heat wave last summer in New York City. John Minchillo/AP

U.S. cities want more research from scientists to help them handle extreme heat — especially the way high temperatures influence human behavior and health.

That was the message from a panel discussion Wednesday at Columbia University. Officials from Miami and New York City shared their heat research wishlists, and social studies — centered on high-risk populations — made the top of the list.

The use of cooling centers — specifically, who goes to them and why — was a big question for Isabelle Thomas, a policy adviser in the New York City mayor’s office.

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“Why do people go to cooling centers? Why don’t people go to cooling centers?” she asked. “What is their perception of the urgency — or lack thereof — as it relates to extreme heat?”

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