A record-breaking, deadly heatwave hit New York earlier this month with temperatures soaring above 90 degrees five days in a row, unusual for September when the weather should be cooling down. Air temperatures of 90 degrees and above can be deadly, increasing the risk of heatstroke and sunstroke.
Extreme heat is the deadliest impact of climate change, and communities of color are the most impacted. Each year in New York City there are 13 deaths from heatstroke, over 100 deaths “from natural causes exacerbated by extreme heat” and over 450 “heat-related emergency department visits.”
We know there is an injustice here, because 50 percent of the heat-related deaths in New York City are Black/African American people, even though they make up only 25 percent of the city’s population.
This summer has been the hottest on record. And New York City may see an average temperature increase of 5.7°F, including a doubling of days above 90°F, by the 2050s according to the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC).
Through our Heat, Health, and Equity Initiative, WE ACT for Environmental Justice is finding solutions to extreme heat and the forces of inequity that make the heat more dangerous for our community.
WE ACT is advocating to improve our community’s cooling centers, plant more trees, establish a maximum indoor air temperature, and increased the funding to provide low-income families with air conditioning. These resiliency measures will be life-saving as our communities face hotter and longer summers.
