Frederic J. Brown
/ AFP via Getty Images
Originally published on July 14, 2021 2:39 pm
As record-high heat hammers much of the country, a new study shows that in American cities, residents of low-income neighborhoods and communities of color endure far higher temperatures than people who live in whiter, wealthier areas.
Urban areas are known to be hotter than more rural ones, but the research published Tuesday in the journal
Earth's Future provides one of the most detailed looks to date at how differences in heat extremes break down along racial and socioeconomic lines.
The authors used census data and measured land surface temperature with satellite imaging and focused on 1,056 counties that are home to about 300 million Americans. They found that in more than 70% of those counties, neighborhoods with more people of color and lower income people, "experience significantly more extreme surface urban heat than their wealthier, whiter counterparts."