Mapping Urban Heat In Charlotte

charlotte heat mappers

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We are part of an international campaign to map urban heat!

Our urban heat mapping campaign took place on Sunday, July 14, 2024. The Charlotte Heat Mappers wish to extend a huge thank you to all of the community volunteers and supporters who helped us to map our city’s urban heat island! Stay tuned for updates!

The Charlotte Heat Mappers on campaign day! (Photo: Jenn Conway/UNC Charlotte)

On July 14, the Charlotte Heat Mappers and 60+ volunteers carried out a successful community science mapping campaign, gathering temperature and humidity data across 100 square miles of Charlotte’s urban heat island. The goal of the mapping effort, funded by a grant from NOAA, is to better understand disparities in the effects of urban heat across Charlotte communities and to identify specific locations at which to prioritize heat mitigation strategies. The team expects to receive the final report and data from the mapping campaign within the next 6-8 weeks. Both the report and the data will be made publicly available.

Browse photos from our heat mapping campaign day below!

(Photo credits: Joe Wiswell, Katie Zager, Sydney Idzikowski, Katherine Idziorek, and Jenn Conway/UNC Charlotte)

The car-mounted temperature and humidity sensors used for the July 2024 urban heat island mapping campaign. Photo: NOAA/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 preventing Black people from accessing home loans or buying property.
• 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.