Researchers with the organization Climate Central found that a majority of residents in 44 cities live in a census tract that experiences heat at least 8 degrees higher than surrounding rural areas.
Cities are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat due to the replacement of vegetation and green space with surfaces like pavement, sidewalks and buildings that absorb more heat, a phenomenon known as the “urban heat island effect.”
Nine of the cities that were part of the analysis are home to at least 1 million residents for whom temperatures are more than 8 degrees hotter than their rural neighbors.
In eight cities — Dallas, Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Omaha, Neb., Portland, Ore., and San Antonio — more than two-thirds of residents face
comparable excess heat.
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