Section:GDN 1N PaGe:25 Edition Date:190821 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 20/8/2019 17:06 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Wednesday 21 Au g u st 2019 The Guardian •
25has experienced the impact of the
climate crisis in her home town of
Kolkata, India, and is now observing
it in Auburn, Alabama, and nearby
Birmingham. “Everyone aspires
to be in an urban area, and there is
chaos ,” she said.
While the impacts of climate
breakdown are fundamentally local,
experts say heat is one of the most
concerning, especially in cities.
“From a disaster perspective,
[heat] is invisible,” says Kurt
Shickman, the executive director of
the Global Cool Cities Alliance. Mitra
likens the problem to having a fi nger
in a pan of water while someone
turns up the heat. “Maybe in 50 or
60 years, living in some cities will be
unbearable. There could be a tipping
point of no return.”
A study this year by the University
of Maryland predicts that by 2080,
Denver, Colorado, will have a
similar hot, wet climate to today’s
Amarillo, Texas; Philadelphia will
feel warmer and drier – more like
Memphis, Tennessee, and New York
City will be up to 5C warmer ( 9F),
with a climate similar to Jonesboro,
Arkansas.
The study shows that if emissions
continue at the current pace,
residents in cities around the US will
experience an average temperature
year from heat-related causes.
From 1999 to 2010, 8,081 heat-
related deaths were reported in the
US and occurred more commonly
among older, younger and poorer
populations. Urban heat islands
retain heat overnight, preventing
people from sleeping well and
leading to even more health
problems, sa id Lucy Hutyra, an
associate professor of Earth and
environment at Boston University.
Air pollution is often wors e
on hot days, and when people
leave windows open for air fl ow,
the quality of the air can cause
respiratory problems. Moister
conditions also mean that heavy
rainfall and subsequent fl ooding is
on the rise; so far this year 78 people
have died as a result, according to
the National Weather Service.
As experienced by New Yorkers
this year, excessive heat in
conjunction with excess demand
for electricity for air conditioning
can cause the grid – or portions of
it – to fail. “Energy demand is going
to go up,” sa id Shickman. “It’s a
substantial and nonlinear reaction.
Our grid is going to be taxed in ways
I don’t think we are prepared for.”
Shickman sa id going from a 26C
day to a 32C day would require an
extra 20%-25% power. Going to 35 Cincrease of 4.5C and live in climates
similar to the current climates of
cities 525 miles south.
Increasing heat is an issue cities
are beginning to understand better,
says Shickman who started the
Global Cool Cities Alliance in 2011.
Since that time, there has been a
huge increase in awareness of urban
heat islands, he sa id. “The issue now
is, ‘OK, this is a uniquely challenging
problem, and how do we develop
policy and implement solutions?’ ”
With a string of subsequent record
hot years and increasing fl ooding,
cities are already dealing with the
impacts of a changing climate.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
an average of 658 people die every High waters
fl ood the streets
of Wilmington,
North Carolina,
in 2018, one of
an increasing
number of
extreme weather
events
PHOTOGRAPH: JIM LO
SCALZO/EPA▼ Tourists swelter in Times
Square, New York. The city could
be up to 5C warmer by 2080
PICTURE: EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP/GETTYBeating the heat
Solutions in actionBecoming aware of the threat of heat
and other climate changes is one
thing. But doing something about it
is diffi cult with limited budgets , and
“there is no one solution”, says Kurt
Shickman , the executive director
of the Global Cool Cities Alliance.
Here are some of the ways cities
are addressing heat and extreme
precipitation.Communication
In New York City, home health aides
are being trained to recognise the
signs of heat stress. In Auburn and
Birmingham, in Alabama, Chandana
Mitra , an associate professor of
geosciences at Auburn University,
talks to churches, service groups
and individuals about urban
heat islands, individual carbon
footprints and solutions. One study
recommends better communication
and coordination between federal,
state and local agencies to address
the problem of urban fl ooding.Trees and green infrastructure
Trees cool the air by evaporating
water. Adding more plants and
trees, as New York City has done
with its million tree programme,
can reduce the temperature of a
city as well as soak up excess storm
water. Lucy Hutyra , an associate
professor of earth and environment
at Boston University, says such an
approach won’t work everywhere –
Los Angeles had problems with its
one million tree programme, in part
because of the city’s water scarcity.
But areas of the north-east with
plenty of water can fi ll empty tree
wells and better develop parks and
green spaces. Restoring or widening
waterways, as is being done with
Houston’s Bray s Bayou , provides
cooler spaces as well as capacity for
excess storm water.▲ A rooftop in New York is painted
with a solar-refl ective coatingCool roofs and pavements
“At a minimum all roofs should be
white with the exception of solar
and green roofs,” says Shickman,
whose Global Cool Cities Alliance
has launched the One Million Cool
Roofs Challenge. White or light-
coloured roofs refl ect heat and can
lower the overall temperature in a
city as well as making individual
buildings and homes cooler.
According to one study, signifi cant
lightening of roofs and pavements
could reduce temperatures in
Chicago by 1.5C.Air conditioning
Air conditioning can raise the
temperatures within cities
through its waste heat and, when
powered by fossil fuels, can
contribute to the climate crisis.
But Hutyra says a more distributed
electricity grid with energy from
renewable sources could help
alleviate some of those concerns.
Cities , she says, won’t be unliveable,
“they just will be diff erent. I think
how we play and live and move
in cities today isn’t how we did
20 years ago. I think in the face
of these large changes in climate
coming our way ... I think it will
reshape what our cities look
like and how we live in them.”
Pam Radtke Russellrequires almost 40% more power.
Excess heat can also evaporate water
needed to cool power plants.
In addition to electricity grid
problems, asphalt can melt in
excess temperatures , rail tracks
may expand , and airports can be
aff ected. Some aircraft can’t take off
from Phoenix airport, for example,
when the temperature exceeds 47C
because the air is too thin.
Heat is a problem for all areas of
city governance, said Shickman. But,
he said, unfortunately there are no
“heat tsars ” to manage the issue.
According to a 2018 study by
Texas A&M University: “The growing
number of extreme rainfall events
that produce intense precipitation
are resulting in – and will continue to
result in – increased urban fl ooding,
unless steps are taken to mitigate
their impacts.” The 2017 National
Climate Assessment concluded:
“ Heavy downpours are increasing ...
increases in frequency and intensity
of extreme precipitation events are
projected for all U S regions.”Pam Radtke Russell is a senior
editor at Engineering News-Record,
in New Orleans and a specialist
on climate adaptation. Read more in
our series on the world’s sweltering
cities at theguardian.com40%
The additional power needed for
air conditioning in cities when the
temperature reaches 35C8,081
The number of heat-related deaths in
the US between 1999 and 2010, with
the old, young and poor most at riskThe increase in average temperature
in New York City by 2080 according to
a study by the University of Maryland5C
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