In the summer of 2019, a dangerously strong heatwave fell over New York City and much of the United States. The brutal heat combined with an oppressive level of humidity forced the city of New York to create portable water fountains in heavily trafficked pedestrian areas, 500 cooling centers, and mandated that residents set their thermostats no lower than 78 °F. The main cause behind the 2019 heatwave in New York city, and similar ones around the world in recent years, is the greenhouse effect exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change. As atmospheric temperatures rise, the frequency and intensity of heatwaves is also expected to increase.
The rise in temperature is especially prominent in urban environments, such as New York City, because of the heat island effect. Man-made structures such as asphalt roads, concrete buildings, and other artificial materials, absorb more solar radiation than natural surfaces like plants or soil, which causes them to re-emit more heat. As a result, highly developed environments, like New York City, are hotter on average than suburban or rural areas with more greenspace and vegetation. Heatwaves, like many other climate change induced phenomena, are expected to increase with global temperatures. With the increases in heat wave frequency, associated heat related illness such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and hyperthermia. Along with the health effects, more heat waves are going to increase the pressure placed on electricity providers as people shelter inside their homes with their air conditioning units on. Some of the economic effects of worsening heat waves consist of drops in worker productivity, by as much as up to 28% depending on the industry. The various costs of heatwaves need to be taken into account as they become more frequent, rendering some regions of the globe uncomfortable and others, uninhabitable.
Heat Wave: A period of abnormally hot weather that lasts two or more days. Abnormally hot means that the temperatures need to be above the historical average for the area in question.
Heat Islands: Urban areas that experience higher temperatures than the surrounding less developed areas.
“New York City” by Bruce.Emmerling is marked with CC0 1.0
Further Reading:
Learn About Heat Islands. (2020, July 30). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/learn-about-heat-islands
Understand Urban Heat Islands. (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://nihhis.cpo.noaa.gov/Urban-Heat-Island-Mapping/Understand-Urban-Heat-Islands
Heat Waves: NOAA Climate.gov. (2021, January 15). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.climate.gov/climate-and-energy-topics/heat-waves-1
References:
What Is a Heat Wave? (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://scijinks.gov/heat/#:~:text=A%20heat%20wave%20is%20a,averages%20for%20a%20given%20area.
Rojas, R., & Gold, M. (2019, July 20). Dangerous Temperatures Grip New York City. Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/nyregion/heat-wave-nyc.html
Summary for Policymakers. (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/
Bane, B. (2018, August 08). New study predicts warming climate will drive thousands to ER for heat illness. Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://phys.org/news/2018-08-climate-thousands-er-illness.html#:~:text=Even%20under%20the%20most%20charitable,costing%20up%20to%20%2452%20million.
Kiersz, A. (2019, July 19). This heat wave is going to make you – and the rest of America – less productive, by as much as 28%. Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/heat-wave-effects-on-economic-productivity-2019-7