Community groups identify Bay Area “heat islands,” make hot weather kits for vulnerable residents

By Molly McCrea

A big chill just passed through the Bay Area. The first storm of the season brought a cold, drenching rain to our backyards and dropped snow in the Sierra Nevada.

But at a recent gathering of community groups, a city council member, students, and climate activists, the talk was not about the cold.  It was all about heat – very extreme heat – and the phenomenon of record-breaking temperatures largely driven by climate change.

On a table were items used to make emergency heat kits, including air filters, portable fans, blackout curtains, special ice pack kits for medications, and powdered electrolytes. 

Some of the kits were assembled by Menlo Park advocacy group Belle Haven Action. Others came courtesy of the Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition and the coalition’s newly-formed Cool Cities Coalition. 

“When it comes to climate change, we’re prepared. We’re ready to provide the resources,” said Belle Haven Action member Shonelle Watkins.

The climate resiliency kits are intended to help communities and neighborhoods when the next record-breaking heatwave occurs next summer. Participants explained it was never too early to get ready. 

“We have a real crucial period right now to prepare,” said Stanford undergraduate Julia Zeitlin, who is majoring in environmental systems engineering with a focus on sustainable urban systems. Zeitlin is also co-founder of the Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition, a student assistant to the California Energy Commission, and a Schultz Energy Fellow at the California Air Resources Board.

Zeitlin explained how the focus for all involved is on how to protect vulnerable community members.

“We know what future summers are going to look like,” noted Zeitlin. “We know they’re unfortunately going to be worse, more extreme heat events.”

With climate change, extreme heat-related deaths are on the rise,  especially in some urban settings known as urban heat islands. The first step for the Coalition was to identify or map the local heat islands or hotspots in the neighborhoods at highest risk for significant heat. Once mapped, the group can direct localized cooling solutions to residents.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with federal and local partners, worked with community scientists to map the heat islands as part of a national campaign called “Heat Watch.” Climate action group CAPA Strategies and NOAA’s National Integrated Heat Health Information System head up the campaign. Last year, the Student Climate Coalition headed up the Bay Area effort.

The volunteers attached special sensors to their cars and on one hot day, they drove on predetermined routes in three cities: Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park.

 “They would go out three times a day. So, at 7 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. And these sensors would basically capture temperature, humidity and location,” explained Stanford PhD student and Cool Cities Coalition member Kristy Mualin. 

The raw data was crunched by CAPA, which came up with a report that included heat maps. The findings revealed several hot spots in Menlo Park’s Belle Haven neighborhood and in East Palo Alto retained heat, staying hot overnight at a time when the human body should be recovering from daytime heat.

Belle Haven resident and city council member Cecilia Taylor was impressed by the data.

“Their project was amazing. And it was also necessary because there are so many challenges here,” Taylor said.

“We were saying, ‘Oh my gosh, our summers have been so different, especially this one. We felt the high humidity,” said East Palo Alto Mayor Martha Barragan.

Heat islands typically have fewer trees and parks, darker roofs, as well as more heat-absorbing concrete and asphalt. They are also found in historically underserved communities, like Belle Haven and East Palo Alto.

 “We have about 7% tree canopy,” Taylor said.

“Throughout the day, we can feel [the heat],” Barragan added.

 Recently, the coalition met to assemble about 100 climate resiliency kits for a pilot project.

“We have water bottles, Pedialyte, and electric fans, medication cooling pouches,” student Jessica Wong said as she looked over the items that would be packed into colorful water-resistant backpacks.

“This is something that I really care about because of the implications for our future,” said Caitlin Hopkins, part of the Student Climate Coalition.

Also on hand assembling the kits was Mayor Barragan’s mother, Yolanda. She told CBS News Bay Area that she is convinced these kits will make a difference.

“Because the seniors are going to feel that somebody is going to care for them,” she said.