A Day in One of D.C.'s Heat Islands

Image via The Washington Post

From The Washington Post:

D.C. entered a scorching heat wave last week, with temperatures hitting 100 degrees for the first time in almost eight years. Thermometers are again expected to hit the high 90s as climate change fuels rising temperatures across the country.

In Kingman Park, the heat was especially acute. That’s because this Northeast Washington neighborhood is a “heat island,” an urbanized area with less tree coverage and green space that experiences higher temperatures than surrounding locations. When neighborhoods have more impervious surfaces such as buildings, sidewalks, vehicles and roadways, they absorb heat rather than reflect it. On some heat islands, temperatures can be up to 10 degrees higher than other areas with more tree coverage. Other such neighborhoods in D.C. include Brightwood and Brightwood Park, Columbia Heights and Near Northeast.

Kingman Park, made up of about 17,000 residents, is especially at risk of illness from heat exposure because of socio-economic factors such as income, age and health ailments, according to a study from the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.