It’s not just in your head; Boston really is hotter in the summer. When urban areas are warmer than surrounding non-urban environments, we experience a phenomenon called the urban heat island (UHI) effect.
Cities are filled with large amounts of artificial materials, such as concrete and asphalt, that absorb heat throughout the day and release heat at night. Living materials like trees, flowers, and grass tend to make areas feel cooler due to the shade they create and the water they release from their leaves, thus counteracting the UHI effect. Take a walk through the park or near the water on a hot summer day and you might just experience this for yourself!
As daily average temperatures increase across the globe, scientists have been tracking surface temperature data using satellite imaging that records the temperature of roads, sidewalks, and other ground-level materials. While this helps us have a general idea of how hot certain areas are, surface temperatures tend to be much hotter than what we actually feel when we are outside.
In order to help cities cope with extreme heat, scientists need to capture the ambient air temperature, which is the temperature of the air that surrounds us. By measuring the temperature of the air we breathe and feel, city planners can more accurately assess the potential health impacts of extreme heat.
