Matthew Eastin on how unequal tree cover contributes to an urban heat divide
Matthew Eastin, associate professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences, was featured on WCNC’s news segment, ‘Unequal tree cover in Charlotte leaves some areas sweltering.’
When the sun goes down in Charlotte, the summer heat lingers longer in the city where less vegetation is present. Compared to parks and nature reserves where trees cool things down, buildings and pavement reflect and trap heat during the day and release it overnight, creating urban heat islands.
“When the sun goes down, the rural areas start to quickly cool down,” Eastin said. “Whereas the urban core has stored all that heat and energy from the sun — and then it starts re-releasing it to the air in the overnight hours.”
Eastin is part of the Charlotte Heat Mappers, an interdisciplinary team of UNC Charlotte researchers who are working to better understand the varying effects of extreme heat across Charlotte’s urban area. The Charlotte Heat Mappers work with community organizations, nonprofits, and government entities across Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, as well as the state and region, to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat on community health and wellbeing.
As part of the National Integrated Heat Health Information System’s Heat Mapping Campaign Program, more than 60 volunteers participated in a city-wide mapping campaign day on July 14, 2024. The team mounted sensors on cars and drove predefined routes across 100 square miles of the city to gather real-feel temperature data.