Heat study shows temperatures around Jacksonville can vary by 12 degrees, mayor says

The results are in for the largest heat study to date in the U.S.

Action News Jax First Alert Meteorologist Garrett Bedenbaugh explains how Jacksonville played a role in the study.

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In April, Action News Jax told you how the University of North Florida and the City of Jacksonville partnered to collect temperature readings across the city this summer from volunteer citizen scientists.

The goal was to identify urban hotspots with heat maps, raise awareness about heat risk, and engage the community in pursuing solutions. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry appeared on The Weather Channel on Tuesday morning to discuss the results.

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“Here’s what we learned, is throughout the entire city, there can be up to 12 degrees in differences in terms of heat,” Curry said.

We also spoke to UNF Biology Professor Dr. Adam Rosenblatt about the study results.

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“I wouldn’t say Jacksonville is unique when it comes to heat islands. We are just one of many cities around the globe that have to deal with this problem,” Rosenblatt said.

Each citizen scientist received a sensor that recorded temperature, humidity, time and location on the same day in June. Those sensors could be mounted on a car or a bike to collect data while traveling through different neighborhoods.

“Well the real value of this study is that we’re gonna get block by block heat data. We’re gonna get this unprecedentedly fine resolution data and we’re gonna give that data to the city,” Rosenblatt said.

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Curry said that some parts of town vary in their resources to combat the heat.

“There are certainly neighborhoods underrepresenting with resources based on socioeconomic levels. But the study demonstrated that there’s severe heat in places all over the city that crosses all socioeconomic lines,” Curry said.

Action News Jax received the report from the city on Tuesday, showing the warmer parts of town where there’s a lot of concrete and industrial space and the cooler areas of town where there’s more green space or trees.

Take a look at the results of the study below:

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