Department faculty lead community science heat mapping campaign
This summer, the Charlotte Heat Mappers, a coalition of community organizations, nonprofits and government entities led by UNC Charlotte’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences (Katherine Idziorek, Matt Eastin, Douglas Shoemaker, Michelle Zuñiga, Veronica Westendorff and graduate research assistant Joe Wiswell) will oversee a community science campaign to map variations in urban heat across the city. Charlotte is one of 14 U.S. communities and four international cities selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to join its 2024 Urban Heat Island mapping campaign. This effort is designed to identify areas where people are most at risk during extreme heat waves.