14 DAY TRIAL // New studies conducted by NASA and group of US universities shows that a clear correlation exist between people's socioeconomic status ant their vulnerability to hot weather and extreme heat.
The discovery was made by experts at the American space agency's Johnson Space Center (JSC), in Houston, Texas, who collaborated closely with colleagues at the Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of California in Riverside (UCR).
The team investigates the relationships that developed between temperature variations and socioeconomic variables across metropolitan Phoenix in great detail. Their results show that the poor group of the urban population is most prone to experiencing nefarious influences from extreme heat.
“The problem of heat-related deaths and illnesses is very serious. Each year, heat fatalities in the US occur in greater numbers than mortality from any other type of weather disaster,” says ASU School of Human Evolution and Social Change sociologist Sharon Harlan, who was a member of the study team.
“Global climate changes and rapidly growing cities are likely to compound and intensify the adverse health effects of heat islands around the world,” she adds. The research team also integrated their data using sophisticated, computer-based modeling tools.
They were thus able to conduct the research while keeping health equity considerations and the well-being of vulnerable populations in their sights. “We want our research to be used to promote better decision-making about climate adaptation in cities,” Harlan says.
She reveals that rich people, for example, tend to live in areas that are drowned in vegetation, in what are considered to be luxury neighborhoods and communities. This is why they are experiencing cooler temperatures, and are less likely to feel the negative effects of excessive heat.
The new work was conducted as a part of the Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems Program, which is sponsored by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). The research initiative received $1.4 million for conducting this investigation.
“This project has theoretical aspects, but it also has an applied focus. We are trying to develop tools that city planners and emergency responders can use. Urban planners also can use this data so that they can help plan the city’s growth and perhaps replace materials that absorb heat with those that are more reflective,” says William Stefanov.
“A lot of urban development is taking place around the world in arid or semiarid climates,” adds the expert, who is a senior geoscientist with Jacobs Technology in JSC’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate.
“By studying Phoenix, researchers can better understand what these developing cities may face and how their environments may change as populations expand,” he concludes.