Canton has the highest urban heat index in Baltimore
BALTIMORE – Around 45% of Baltimore's population has an urban heat island effect of 8 degrees or higher, according to data collected by Climate Central.
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) index breaks down how much hotter certain census tracts are compared to others. It shows Census Tract 104 in Canton has the highest UHI in the city at more than 12 degrees warmer than average.
"What is in that neighborhood? What is in that area that is making it warmer? So, the smaller (area to study) you can get, the better," Climate Central Senior Data Analyst Jennifer Brady said. "Population density increases heat. More cars, more buses, more things like that."
Carys Davies was outside with her dog Theo on Wednesday afternoon walking along Boston Street during the heat wave.
"It's brutal. I think the best way to put it. It's not fun to be outside," Davies said. "We're not outside in this heat longer than 10-20 minutes at a time."
Tony Boyd took respite on a bench in the shade.
"It's clearly 100 degrees out here, and with the heat index, I'm sure it's more," Boyd said. "In the county, you have more trees. They have more oxygen. It makes it cooler. They tear down all the trees in the city to build this."
Tree coverage is among the factors in urban heat. Climate Central says potential solutions include planting more trees along paved streets and rooftop gardens.
"The bigger climate change question—it's hard. It's a big problem and it's going to take super big solutions. But, this is something where we can make some incremental improvements," Brady said.
