It’s Not Your Imagination, the Middle of a City Is Hotter Than Anywhere Else

It’s called the “urban heat island effect.”

This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

The year is 2018. Cities are hot. Really, really hot. Thanks to something called the “urban heat island effect,” cities like Los Angeles and New York are literally the hottest places to live—and climate change is only warming things up more.

An epic heat wave wreaked havoc across LA this past week, leaving more than 26,000 residents without power after temperatures spiked to 109 degrees downtown. The good news is that cities are taking action to stem the serious public health threats that come along with extreme heat.

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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