Update, August 10:
The Reno-Sparks heat mapping project took place on Saturday, August 10.
Over 100 community members volunteered to help collect data.
The campaign expects the results to be available in early 2025.
"It's really important ... so we know where folks are at risk, where maybe we should take some mitigation measures like trees and reflective surfaces and things like that, and where maybe folks might need some help making sure there's air conditioning, making sure there's cooling centers and things like that," said Thomas Albright, Nevada State Climatologist.
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Update, August 2:
Two previous heat mapping campaign dates were postponed due to cooler weather.
The new date is set for Saturday, August 10.
Volunteers will watch a training video, fill out a knowledge check, sign a waiver and indicate their availability before picking up a sensor.
They will then set out in pairs to drive or navigate a predetermined route with a GPS-equipped temperature and humidity sensor attached to their car.
“We really need a hot, clear-sky day to make the most relevant and accurate maps of our urban heat islands,” Tom Albright, interim Nevada State Climatologist and associate professor of geography at the University of Nevada, Reno, said. “We’re having one of the hottest summers on record, but ironically our first campaign date fell on the coolest day in all of July.”
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Original Story, July 2:
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) and the University of Nevada, Reno are looking for volunteers to help conduct a one-day heat mapping campaign in Washoe County.
On Saturday, July 27, volunteers will drive across the city along predetermined routes with temperature and humidity sensors on their cars.
The goal of the project is to increase understanding of the urban heat island effect, which is the tendency for urban environments to concentrate and amplify heat, and how it impacts communities.
The information gathered will be used by city planners and community groups to plan for trees, shade structures and other resources.
If you are interested in volunteering, you can fill out the volunteer interest form.
You can also find more information about the project at this link.
“With Washoe County residents bearing the brunt of rising heat, air pollution and the health impacts that result from these, it’s important to know how and where we can take action to reverse these trends,” said Brian Beffort, Sustainability Manager for Washoe County.
“This heat mapping exercise gives our community’s jurisdictions and partner agencies and organizations the opportunity to work together to better understand where these challenges are affecting us most. With that knowledge, we’ll be better able to work together to find solutions.”
