It’s hot here in Roxbury. Really hot.
The heat index today is 99°. Last month, we saw heat indexes of 108°. Last year was the earth’s hottest summer ever recorded. And in both 2022 and 2021, Boston set new records for the hottest months in our history.
As we suffer through more and more heat, our elected officials don’t seem to be getting it. Wait a couple of months, they seem to say: by September, voters will have forgotten all about it, and we can move on.
Let’s face it: heat is getting worse, and action is overdue. Add your name: we demand action from city and state leaders to prevent deaths and avoid suffering.
Boston is among the country’s worst cities for “heat intensity”. We’ve always had hot days, but the accelerating climate crisis means we get many more of them — and our city’s built environment makes some of our neighborhoods much, much hotter.
I commute to Nubian Square from my home in Brookline, where trees and green space do a great job of keeping it milder during a heat wave. The difference couldn’t be more stark.
What drives this difference is called the “urban heat island effect”, but here in Boston, it might as well be called heat-lining. When you see it on the map, it lines right up with the redlined neighborhoods, where so many Black and Brown folks still live. Redlined neighborhoods can be 8* hotter than the rest of the city. And we know why: less tree canopy, less public green space, more highways and factories causing local air pollution, and more concrete and paved surfaces.
Take a look at this map. Redlined neighborhoods are outlined in red, and the red color indicates excess “heat event hours.”
Source: City of Boston Heat Resilience Plan
Extreme heat hits Black Bostonians much harder than our white neighbors. Racist systems leave us more vulnerable: asthma from polluted air, diabetes from a lack of access to healthy food, untreated chronic conditions from inadequate healthcare and mobility. People in prison and without a steady home — both disproportionately Black — are especially at risk from extreme heat.
Overheating can kill. It exacerbates heart disease, asthma, and most other chronic conditions. It’s worse in New England because extreme heat used to be relatively rare, so our society and infrastructure are less prepared to help.
Our elected officials must continue to fight against climate change, which is driving this increase in extreme heat. They also need to make our communities more resilient to extreme heat, starting today.
City Hall and the State House have taken some good, small steps, including Boston’s 2022 Heat Resilience Plan. But they’re far from enough, and people are suffering as a result. It was ludicrous to cut mature trees from Roxbury’s Malcolm X Park. It’s outrageous that during June’s heat wave, many outdoor pools hadn’t opened for the season yet. And construction workers, delivery drivers, and others still have no legal right to a cool-down break on a hot day.
We need to see our elected officials investing in green space and tree coverage. Funding green rooftops and depaving projects. Building shade and seating at bus stops. Ensuring residents aren’t displaced by gentrification. Reducing energy costs for low-income folks and helping people afford air conditioners. Forcing major polluters to cut back. Creating housing for the unhoused, and ending mass incarceration.
We also need our leaders to be upfront about who’s to blame: fossil fuel companies which have spent decades deceiving the public about their role in causing climate chaos. One county in Oregon is suing major oil companies for their role in the deadly 2021 heat wave.
We are living in a new era of oppressive heat, and we’re hurtling toward an even hotter future. It’s time for our leaders to start taking real action.
– Dwaign Tyndal