Volunteers needed for urban heat mapping campaign in Okla City

Last Updated on June 28, 2023, 5:00 PM | Published: June 28, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY — The City of Oklahoma City is recruiting hundreds of volunteers to participate in a national campaign to map urban areas with extreme heat.

More than 300 individuals are needed to collect temperature and air quality data along predetermined routes throughout the city in the early morning, late afternoon, and evening.

Volunteers, also known as street scientists, will attach equipment to their vehicle’s window and travel along a designated route, measuring air temperature, air quality (particulates), and location.

Volunteers will be paired in trios consisting of a pilot, a navigator, and a backup.

Volunteers will return the equipment to a designated location once the route has been concluded. Depending on weather conditions, the campaign will take place on one of the hottest days of the year, provisionally scheduled for August 12th. The secondary date is scheduled for August 26. Volunteer training will be held virtually June 27 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., July 13 from 12 to 1 p.m., and July 27 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City was designated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as one of 18 communities to participate in the NOAA Urban Heat Island (UHI) mapping campaign in 2023. The grant award for the initiative was approved by the City Council on June 6.

Urban heat islands can be up to 20 degrees higher than neighborhoods with more trees, greenery, and less black asphalt.

NOAA reports that extreme heat events are the deadliest weather-related occurrences in the United States. The elderly, minors, pregnant women, low-income and minority populations, and those with heart and lung-related health conditions, diabetes, and obesity, among others, are more susceptible to heat.

In addition to the one-day volunteer event, the City’s Office of Sustainability and researchers from three colleges at the University of Oklahoma will conduct workshops on environmental education and awareness. The Colleges of Landscape Architecture, Public Health, and Geography at the University of Oklahoma are also conducting research on Oklahoma City’s thermal vulnerability.

Details

The first workshop will take place on July 8 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at The Auditorium at The Douglass, 600 N High Ave, according to Sarah Terry-Cobo, associate planner with the Office of Sustainability for the City of Oklahoma City.

CAPA Strategies, a NOAA contractor, will create a report for local decision-makers, planners, and health organizations to reduce the health impacts of extreme temperatures once data collection is complete.

Learn more about the Urban Heat Island initiative of the city. Register as a volunteer using this link, and contact the Office of Sustainability at [email protected] with any concerns.

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