Mountain West News Bureau

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A Nevada collaborative is looking at how to mitigate the effects of high heat

Nevada Public Radio | By Yvette Fernandez

Published July 11, 2024 at 2:54 PM MDT

A small crowd of people walk along a sidewalk in Las Vegas. It's a hot, sunny day, and some are shielding their eyes from the sun. A building with Roman columsn can be seen in a backround as well as a partial view of what looks like a circus tent. — People shield their eyes from the sun along the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. The Heat Resilience Lab, which is based in Las Vegas, is part of a Climate Adaptation Partnership. It's examining the effects of "urban heat islands" — places in cities where buildings and other infrastructure cause an area to be much hotter than its surroundings.

States in our region will continue to be under an intense heat dome this week. Several collaborative efforts in our region are aimed at climate and heat mitigation efforts.

There are over a dozen Climate Adaptation Partnerships across the country – at least four in our region. These federally funded efforts collect data and help develop response plans. The partnerships in the Mountain West are the California/Nevada Applications Program, the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, the Western Water Assessment, and Climate Assessment for the Southwest.

Ariel Choinard heads the Heat Resilience Lab based in Las Vegas. It’s part of the California/Nevada Collaborative. Choinard said urban heat islands are becoming increasingly concerning.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines an “urban heat island” as a place in a city or built-up area that experiences higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure can absorb heat and emit it at a higher rate than places that have natural landscaping such as trees and water features.

“Our urban heat island neighborhoods are on average 11 degrees hotter than our coolest neighborhoods,” Choinard said. “And that's very significant when you think about the fact that it was just 120 degrees.”

Choinard said heat is a systemic issue impacted by health and environmental inequities. She also said it is the top cause of death by natural occurrences.

“You can't really talk about heat without talking about a whole lot of other stuff — homelessness, drought, affordable housing … I mean you start pulling at this thread and you end up pulling on all those other threads as well,” she said.

The California/Nevada collaborative, launched in 2023, is working on a regional response plan. Other partnerships include cooperatives with Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.