Mapping Urban Heat in Charlotte

charlotte heat mappers

• Link to Charlotte Heat Mappers Instagram account
• Mail

Join us to be a part of an international campaign to map urban heat!

Interest form: http://bit.ly/CharlotteHeatMappersInterestForm 

The Charlotte Heat Mappers aim to better understand the varying effects of extreme heat across our urban area and to work with local partners to mitigate its impacts on community health and wellbeing.

Our mapping campaign will take place on one of Charlotte’s hottest days this summer, likely in mid-July. We will be working closely with the National Weather Service to determine the exact date once temperatures start to heat up.

On campaign day, volunteers will collect data using mobile sensors mounted on their cars in three shifts: morning, afternoon, and evening.

The car-mounted heat sensors used for the mapping campaign. Photo: NIHHIS.

Why we are excited about mapping urban heat:

• The Heat Mapping campaign is community science: it is powered by volunteers, and the data gathered will be made publicly available. Data gathered in previous cities’ campaigns has been used to support place-based heat mitigation efforts like tree planting initiatives, establishing cooling centers, developing heat action plans, and educating the public on heat. 
• Heat is more intense in some places than others. Places with few trees and more heat-trapping materials like asphalt and steel will usually be hotter. This can have negative health outcomes for the people living and working in these areas. While this is a current issue, studies have linked higher temperatures to historical practices like redlining: the practice of excluding black people from getting home loans.
• Charlotte’s mapping effort is part of an international campaign with communities and cities from across the U.S. and around the world! Learn more here: NOAA Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaigns.

We are part of an international campaign!

2024 cities are in red.

Past cities are in gray.