If it weren't for the traffic along South MacDill Avenue, Javonne Mansfield swears you could hear the sizzle of a frying pan.
The sun is scorching with such violent intensity that even weathered Floridians can't help but take note.
The same is true in cities across the country, where poor and minority neighborhoods disproportionately suffer the consequences of rising temperatures. Research shows the temperatures in a single city, from Portland, Oregon, to Baltimore, can vary by up to 20 degrees. For a resident in a leafy suburb, a steamy summer day may feel uncomfortable. But for their friend a few neighborhoods over, it’s more than uncomfortable — it’s dangerous.
Unrelenting heat As a human body warms, sweat gathers and evaporates from the skin, transferring heat away and into the air. The heat index, often called the "feels like" temperature, accounts for temperature plus the added burden of humidity. For instance, while the thermometer may read 91 degrees, the heat index means it can feel like 110 degrees. The National Weather Service defines any heat index of 105 degrees or higher as dangerous.By 2036, that number is projected to jump to as many as 80 days a year.
This summer, heat waves have killed at least 13 people in Texas and one in Louisiana, where the heat index reached 115 degrees. In Arizona, at least 18 people have died, and 69 other deaths were being investigated for potential links to heat illness. Other Arizonans have been hospitalized for serious burn injuries after touching scalding concrete.
MacFarlane Park, east of Tampa International Airport, ranks among the least shady areas of the city, according to the report. It has 21% canopy coverage, or nearly a third less than the city average. On the upper end, the canopy of mansion-lined Bayshore Boulevard is not far behind those of a series of housing developments along Flatwoods Park in New Tampa, one of which hovers around 73% coverage.
On a July day in West Tampa, a girl on a bike squints as she pedals, beads of sweat dripping from her brow. A woman pushing a stroller contorts her body while waiting for the bus, trying to make use of a strip of shade no wider than 6 inches, cast from a traffic pole. Extreme heat in the U.S. kills more people than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes put together, according to the National Weather Service. It's the country's No. 1 weather-related cause of death.
"We know that's a pretty gross underestimate," said Uejio. "Our best scientific estimates are anywhere between 5,000 to 12,000 deaths in the United States due to conditions exacerbated by heat each year."Despite patchy reporting, it appears heat-related deaths are on the rise. Last year’s number of estimated deaths was more than double the number from a decade ago.
A more resilient city That the tree canopy is shrinking is no surprise to city officials. In April, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor set a goal of planting 30,000 trees by 2030. Remer said he's looking to other cities for solutions. In Phoenix, a "cool pavement" pilot program uses a water-based asphalt layer to reflect heat off roads. Last year, Miami-Dade County appointed the world's first chief heat officer. Washington and Oregon have begun distributing thousands of air conditioning units to vulnerable residents and barred utility companies from cutting power to homes during heat waves.
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