Continuing to study Thunder Bay's "heat island" locations (mapping precise temperatures and other environmental readings across the city in summer)

Thunder Bay - Researchers at Confederation College are working with the City of Thunder Bay to map precise temperatures and other environmental readings across the city during the summer.

Representatives from the college's research department and the city say the data and its analysis could be used to help guide how Thunder Bay plans to build new public spaces or renovate existing ones, with an eye to reducing heat, especially for vulnerable populations.

"We've also collected a large number of data points across the region," said Maddyson Bouvier, the heat island project lead between Confederation College and the city'sCityStudio program, adding that these data points include gathering areas such as bus stops, city parks, wading pools, and skate parks.

"Some places are closer to the airport, some are closer to the marina, some have more... trees and vegetation around them."

They said the research involved Bouvier and two other college students who used portable sensor devices to measure conditions such as temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, barometric pressure, heat stress index, dew point, and canopy cover. Readings were taken at 276 locations between July 26 and September 18, 2024. At each location, air, sidewalk, and grass temperatures were measured.

Bouvier added that the goal is to compile all the data and effectively map the city's "heat islands" - or areas of concentrated high temperatures caused by the extra heat retained and radiated by asphalt, concrete, and other building materials, which is not mitigated by vegetation and canopy cover.

Bouvier said bus stops and areas frequently used by vulnerable populations were a focus.

They added that as overall temperatures rise due to climate change, it is important to keep such data in mind when planning the look and function of public spaces.

"These things are becoming more and more visible to people, and we haven't really paid much attention to them before."

The city's climate adaptation coordinator, Jacob Porter, said having such extensive data is very important for the city.

"Ideally, using this information can help us determine what measures we can take as a municipality to help reduce the impact of extreme heat on Thunder Bay residents," Porter said, adding that exposure to heat can be very dangerous and is often underestimated.

"It can be especially problematic for young people, the elderly, or those with chronic illnesses," he said. "When we plan public spaces, we want to consider the people who will be using that space."

Porter said these planning decisions could include building shade structures, identifying areas for tree planting, or first considering what buildings to construct in a specific area.

To illustrate how unshaded surfaces retain heat, Bouvier cited two sets of temperature data. One set, collected on August 2 at a location on Walsh Street between Brown Street and Waterloo Street, showed air temperature at 36.8 degrees Celsius, grass at 42.3 degrees, and sidewalk at 50.1 degrees. Then, on August 13, at a location on Red River Road between High Street and Kenogami Avenue, the air temperature was 29.5 degrees, but the grass was 50.5 degrees and the sidewalk was 47 degrees.

Bouvier said the dry weather experienced in and around the city last summer likely contributed to the grass retaining heat, especially in late summer.

Bouvier said the program will continue after they finish their studies at Confederation College.

"I think we've gathered as many data points as possible, we have so much data, (the city) can use it for... different things if they want," they said, adding that researching green roofs could be one idea.

"Summer students will take over this project and continue to collect these data points," Bouvier continued. "We are very rigorous in how we collect data."

"We took photos of each site so that in future years we can get the same data and then make further comparisons."

Source:  https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/research-to-continue-into-where-thunder-bays-heat-islands-are-10183236