Hurricanes can demolish the house and hurricanes can flood the entire cities. But when it comes to weather risks, Extreme heat He is the great deception. It is not sharp. It is literally a matter of degrees. It looks 100 degrees very similar to 85 years. The sky does not spare the warning and danger is not immediate, like gunshots. It is slow and cumulative, like poison.
Defense against Extreme heat It is an increased problem, as I learned when searching within the limits of weather prediction and how to protect people from the dangers of nature. In some cases, climate change leads to the leadership of extremist events in areas where people have little experience in health or preparation for health and other high heat effects. We have seen this with the 2021 heat wave, which left hundreds of dead people in the northwest.
As it turned out, meteorology has become good in predicting high temperatures – but society must go large when it comes to using these predictions to maintain people’s safety. I have spoken not only with meteorologists but also with doctors, public health officials, emergency respondents and community leaders. They all made it clear that a good prediction is just the beginning. Given the links that researchers found between climate change and some severe thermal events, it is tempting to see this problem as a problem that needs a global solution – for example, to reduce carbon emissions, which of course is very important. But I was surprised to know how some of the simplest measures can help-and instead of seeking efforts worldwide, can be implemented at the neighborhood level.
Read more: Why is the intense heat very bad for the human body
I had the opportunity to see one of this experience at Hunting Park, alive, about five miles north of Philadelphia. If you walk across the neighborhood, you are likely to discover a number of things on the sidewalks made of incomplete wooden panels. The project that produced these organisms refers to “heat comfort areas”, but they are mainly farmers on the sidewalk with a built -in seat and an escalation of the sun blocking umbrella.
The idea behind these seats/seats is easy enough to understand: Create some opportunities for the population to find the shadow in hot days in a neighborhood that is considered a classic heat island due to the scarcity of relative trees. (City data found that Hunting Park’s tree cover was 9 %, in contrast to 48 % in a Mashled neighborhood like a healthy chestnut hill.)
But the process that produced these shadow stations reveals some of the deepest impacts on the battle against heat. At the beginning of the Covid-19s, with the launch of the lock and social in the arrangement of today, some community leaders began to worry about the summer heat. Libraries, community centers and other facilities, which are usually pressed in service as cooling centers, were closed. Therefore, Franco Montalto, Professor of Drexelle University of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, looked at solutions from all over the world, and began to focus on the basic power of the shade.
Soon after, there was a project that includes Drexelle, city officials, and non -profit society organizations, and most importantly – the population themselves. The approach is known as the participatory design, a way to collect inputs from all stakeholders to ensure that the end result meets their needs. Starting with the broad goal of providing more shadow, the process expanded in 2021 and eventually resulted in farmers who are now in the streets.
Through this work, Park has received more than just some external seats. Community polls and participatory design discussions on the population were talking about heat. The employment of local workers to create farmers remain on the project centered around society and stimulate more talks. Once the first farmers are installed, they became a visible symbol, which stimulates more discussion. Ultimately, all of this was assembled in a catalyst to get the residents of one of the most important neighborhoods of Philadelphia to focus healthy risks from severe heat.
When I visited Hunting Park, I saw a one -seat/seat in front of Priscilla Johnson’s house, residing for more than 30 years. During the experimental program in 2020, she volunteered to host a farmer in front of her home. Johnson says: “People were not already going out in heat,” Johnson says. “It was very overwhelming,” says Johnson. This changed after the farmers arrived. “I went out more than ever, sitting on my seat. Other people came and sat outside and loved them.” Johnson says that the neighbors loved the way in which her house seemed to be sank and will come to ask her about it. “Once everyone saw what they were, I was getting all kinds of” Oh, I want a seat! And I explain to them, it’s not only about beautifying your home.
Johnson told me her consciousness of heat risk, thanks to the Grass Initiative, and she is now more aware of the island of Heet, which is the hunting garden. “All I knew was that it was hot,” she says. “I think I had to deal with heat only, and I don’t know that we are in an area where the atmosphere is especially hot.” Johnson also told me that she became more aware of the healthy risks of hot weather, but added that it was not something that I discussed with her a lot. “I think people need to be more educated.”
With almost summer here, seasonal expectations are already expecting a higher heat than average for large regions of the United States, including New England and parts of the West. As we approach July, meteorologists will be able to tell us more certainty about any severe heat events. Thanks to modern prediction, we can see these dangers on the way. But converting these expectations into better results means taking action – even something that seems essential like giving a neighborhood some shaded places to sit.
This is an excerpt from the new Weber book, Cloud Warriors: fatal storms, climatic chaos – and pioneers a revolution in weather prediction. Publishing Rights © 2025 by the author and re -printed with the permission of the St. Martin Publishing Group.
