LABS Masters Students Volunteering as Citizen Scientists Measuring Urban Heat in El Paso

This past summer CIBS students joined an interdisciplinary project to map heat distribution in El Paso. The project aims to understand urban heat islands and propose solutions on how to reduce them. Volunteers were driving or cycling around selected routes three times during July 10, 2020: at 6 am and at 3 and 7 pm. Through the identification of urban heat spots, the city and developers could articulate climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and prevent heat-related illnesses. El Paso was one of the 13 cities in the U.S. selected for the Urban Heat Mapping Campaign launched by the National Integrated Heat Health Information System and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The EPA-Border 2020 Program granted additional funds. Students from the LABS MA, Engineering, and Sociology/Anthropology, volunteered in this campaign. LABS students Ana Fuentes, Gabriela Galindez, and Daniel Miranda appreciated the opportunity to acknowledge the links between heat, the built environment, and social factors that increase risks. Findings will be released to the public soon. To learn more about this project you can visit: https://nihhis.cpo.noaa.gov/