Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
As average temperatures go up around the globe, we’re all experiencing more extreme heat, especially in major cities, where lots of cement, and not a lot of trees, absorb heat and make things even hotter. Today we’re looking into how the US’s biggest city, New York, is finding ways to keep its residents cool.
Emma Mejia and Isha Thakkar from our Possibly Team have the details
Emma Mejia: Hi, Megan!
Isha Thakkar: Hello!
Megan Hall: So how is New York dealing with extreme heat?
Emma Mejia: That’s a great question. New York City has spent a lot of time working on ways to deal with the effects of climate change and extreme heat.
Ashwin Vasan: We have been planning for a climate mitigation and adaptation for many, many years, there’s been a whole host of initiatives.
Isha Thakkar: That’s Dr. Ashwin Vasan, a physician and the former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Emma Mejia: Dr. Vasan says that extreme heat kills hundreds of New Yorkers a year.
Ashwin Vasan: We treat that in public health as entirely preventable. And so we put forth a multi pronged strategy to try to prevent as many of those deaths as possible.
Megan Hall: What kind of steps has the city been taking?
Isha Thakkar: One of the most important steps is making sure people have access to air conditioning.
Ashwin Vasan: Air conditioning, especially in light of a warming planet, in a warming city, warming urban environments, is a necessity.
Isha Thakkar: To help, with this issue, in 2020, the city installed air conditioners in public housing units. New York City also offers a Cooling Assistance program to help low-income New Yorkers cover the cost of buying an air conditioner
Emma Mejia: The city also has programs that help people afford to keep the AC on when they need it.
Ashwin Vasan: What we are working on things like our Home Energy Assistance Program with the state of New York, we have reduced energy bills by millions of dollars for low income families. So that they can then afford to turn on that AC .
Isha Thakkar: The city has also been brainstorming ways to encourage landlords to keep it cooler indoors
Megan Hall: How would the city do that?
Emma Mejia: Well, last year the city council proposed a bill that would establish a maximum temperature policy for New York City buildings in the summer.
Isha Thakkar: This bill would require landlords to provide cooling systems that keep units 78 degrees or cooler when the temperature is above 82 degrees outside.
Megan Hall: What else is New York city doing to keep people cool?
Isha Thakkar: They’re also expanding access to cooling centers. in places like local libraries, senior centers, and community centers.
Aswhin Vasaan: It’s not just about government sites. It’s about the whole city’s approach to ensuring that no one has to suffer the effects of extreme heat unnecessarily.
Isha Thakkar: And remember, not all cooling options are indoors.
Emma Mejia: In 2024 the city announced a plan to invest over a billion dollars into pool infrastructure and swim lessons, to help residents have more places to cool down.
Ashwin Vasan: Cooling off in a public pool nearby is a great way to address extreme heat as well.
Megan Hall: But, how does the city decide where to focus these cooling efforts?
Emma Mejia: Good question. The city uses a heat vulnerability index or HVI to identify those who are the most susceptible to the effects of extreme heat.
Ashwin Vasan: So your heat vulnerability index is a map of extreme heat and heat patterns across the city, mapped over social and economic metrics like poverty, inequality, and access to health care.
Emma Mejia: The city is trying to map those cooling options and cooling centers to the communities that need them the most.
Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Isha and Emma
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Bluesky at “askpossibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and The Public’s Radio.
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