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Tracking the heat in Atlanta
Over the last two years, a team of faculty and student researchers from Georgia Tech and Spelman College used sensors to track heat throughout the city.
ATLANTA - Metro Atlanta is expecting to see the highest temperatures this year over the weekend, but there are some spots that will be hotter than others.
This is all due to the urban heat island effect, where buildings and concrete trap heat. Experts say trees are key to keeping the temperatures down.
Queena McKiver says she’s felt the temperatures start to rise recently on her walks through Rodney Cook Senior Park just west of downtown.
"It’s more so humid to me than it is hot," McKiver said.
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That park is one of the hottest parts of the city, based on findings by researchers with UrbanHeatATL.
"There is a lot of open space with a lot of concrete and not a lot of tree canopy. There are some trees, kind of around the perimeter of the park, but where people are spending most of their time in the park, you don’t have shade," said Na’Taki Osborne-Jelks, co-lead for UrbanHeatATL.
Over the last two years, the team of faculty and student researchers from Georgia Tech and Spelman College has used sensors to track heat throughout the city.
They also found spots near the West End MARTA station and downtown with higher temperature readings. The difference between those spots and other parts of town, they say, are trees.
"There’s a lot of research that shows that increased tree canopy you have decreased temperature. Also, when you look at the tree canopy with respect to lots of chronic diseases, there are also studies that show some positive associations," Osborne-Jelks said.
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Their goal is to get more trees in the hotter parts of the city to help during heatwaves. According to the EPA, shaded surfaces could be anywhere from 20- to 45-degrees cooler than unshaded ones.
"Look for those parks and green spaces where there is a significant tree canopy where you can get some cover from the sun," Osborne-Jelks said.
"We need to look at things, like planting trees. Obviously, that’s more of a long-term solution. You know it’s going to take time for those trees to mature," she added.
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And people like McKiver say they’re ready for the heat.
"Water and praying to God for a breeze, you know, to come through," McKiver said.