New York City faces increasing heat waves exacerbated by climate change, with projections predicting an increase in days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The urban heat island effect intensifies this challenge, leading to higher temperatures in densely populated areas. Heat vulnerability is unevenly distributed, disproportionately affecting low-income communities of color. Heat poses a significant public health threat, causing around 580 deaths annually in New York, with Black residents at greater risk. Effective responses necessitate both short-term emergency measures and long-term urban cooling strategies to mitigate heat-related impacts.
"Heat is an infrastructure problem, an economic problem, a policy problem, a community problem, and a health problem. It requires a coordinated approach on all these fronts."
"New York summers are hot. On average, the city annually weathers 17 days with temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but climate change is heating our planet at an alarming rate."
"By 2080, in the worst-case scenario, we could see as many as 108 days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit due to climate change."
"According to the city's Heat Vulnerability Index, low-income communities of color bear disproportionate heat burdens in neighborhoods undermined by historical disinvestment and environmental injustice."
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