Lucas County will be joining 17 urban areas in a heat mapping campaign.
At the July 11 meeting, the commissioners entered into a memorandum of understanding agreement with Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to participate in urban heat island mapping.
This summer NOAA is recording the hottest parts of 18 communities in 14 states nationwide and in one international city, Santiago, Chile.
Identifying these hotspots, known as urban heat islands, will help local officials take actions to mitigate the impact of extreme heat, which often targets the most vulnerable.
Now in its seventh year, the NOAA Urban Heat Island (UHI) mapping campaign addresses extreme heat, the number one weather-related cause of death in the United States for the last three decades.
Urban heat islands–typically areas with few trees and more pavement that absorbs heat–can be up to 20 degrees hotter than nearby neighborhoods with more trees, grass and less black asphalt.
“The burden of heat is not shared equally in our urban areas,” explained Rick Spinrad NOAA administrator. “Gathering this type of environmental intelligence helps communities measure their hottest places so they can develop strategies to reduce the dangerous effects of heat. Community by community, we’re working to create a climate- ready nation that is resilient in a changing world.”
In addition to Toledo, communities chosen for this year’s program are Chicago; Salt Lake City; Dallas; Oklahoma City; Asheville, North Carolina; Framingham and Brockton, Massachusetts; Johnson County and Wyandotte County, Kansas, which includes the Kansas City suburbs; Wilmington, Delaware; Little Rock, Arkansas; Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Sedona, Arizona; Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Washington County, Oregon, outside of Portland.
Cities and counties selected this year have a range of experiences with extreme heat, but each is looking for equitable ways to implement cooling solutions in their communities.
For example, Chicago experienced one of the nation’s most deadly heat waves in 1995. It struck the city’s older adults, minorities and those with lower socio-economic status, resulting in nearly 500 reported deaths in a matter of days, said Mr. Spinrad. Iowa City and Cedar Rapids faced a derecho event in 2020, and lost many trees in the region, decreasing shade for residents, he added.
The results of the study will help Toledo and other cities devise local solutions. Cities from past campaigns have used them to implement tree planting strategies, inform communities of the location of new public transit shelters for cooling relief, develop heat action plans, educate residents and policymakers and inform new research.
NOAA’s heat island mapping program is part of the Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative, to ensure that federal agencies work with states and local communities to deliver 40 percent of benefits from federal investment in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.
The program also is part of the America the Beautiful Initiative, as urban heat islands are areas in great need of more access to nature and its health and cooling benefits.
Since 2017, NOAA, through the interagency National Integrated Heat Health Information System, has funded CAPA Strategies LLC offsite link to provide science support for more than 70 community- led urban heat island mapping campaigns.
Led by a team of local partners in each city, volunteer citizen scientists travel through neighborhoods in the morning, afternoon and evening on one of the hottest days of the year with heat sensors mounted on their cars or bikes. The sensors record temperature, humidity, time and the volunteers’ location every second. CAPA’s end-to-end program, including sensor technology, analysis, modeling and community engagement, allows communities to develop hyper-local descriptions of heat and strategize mitigation options specific to each community and its needs.
Data from the UHI campaigns are open access and available on the federal website Heat.gov.
Other Business
In other business, the commissioners: •Accepted funds of $610,197 from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office for the special August election.
•Approved the prosecutor’s office request to submit a grant application of $60,000 for the Violence Against Women response team program. The grant requires a $20,000 match.
The commissioners approved a similar request by the sheriff’s office to apply for a VAW grant to support integrated investigations. They are seeking $67,043, and the grant requires a 25 percent match.
•Extended the food service operating agreement with Aramark for the juvenile detention center, $200,000; and the youth treatment center, $125,000. The agreement runs through June 30, 2024.
•Certified Monclova Township charges to be placed on the real property tax duplicate for refuse collection. The cost will increase to $112.32 annually or $9.36 per month for a five-year period beginning February 2024.
•Recognized Lee Daher for his service on the workforce development board.
The next county commissioners meeting will be at 11 a.m., Tuesday, August 1, in the commissioners hearing room, first floor, One Government Center, Toledo, and is open to the public.
