These Sacramento neighborhoods feel more heat than others. Where does your area land?
More than half of Sacramento’s population lives in areas that feel roughly 8 degrees warmer than their rural neighbors, a recent climate study found. That’s called an “urban heat island effect.”
When population dense cities swap green spaces for surfaces that absorb solar radiation — concrete, brick and pavement — residents receive boosts of extreme heat. A 2023 Urban Heat Hot Spots study from Climate Central, a climate change non-profit organization, found hot spots are on track to amplify heat stress, put vulnerable communities at risk and increase energy use across the nation.
For some, these conditions amplify the disparities that already exist.
Communities enduring the largest effects in Sacramento are downtown, Natomas Crossing and West Sacramento. Senior research associate Kaitlyn Trudeau with Climate Central said oftentimes communities with large populations of people of color and under resourced residents are “hit the hardest.”
Those without homes are among the most vulnerable, oftentimes living on hot pavement without access to reliable water and air conditioning.
The area surrounding the Crocker Art Museum on O Street — from Capitol Mall to R Street and from the Sacramento River to Seventh Street — omits 9.8 degrees of additional heat, according to the study. That means if it’s 93 degrees in rural Sacramento County, it might be nearly 103 downtown.
“I wonder, at what point are these places going to become not habitable,” said Trudeau, who lives in Sacramento and is one of the leading data analysts in the urban heat island study.
“There’s a certain limit to the amount of heat that our bodies can physiologically take.”
Climate Central measured urban heat island index in nearly 19,000 census tracts across 44 large U.S. cities, which according to the U.S. Census Bureau, are tiny subdivisions in a county.
Indexes were then determined based on 2020 Census data and the variety of land cover — which includes water, trees and grass — compared to the distance between buildings.
How Sacramento heat spots compare to U.S. cities
Across the 44 U.S. cities, roughly 55% or 41 million people live in areas that radiate at least 8 degrees of additional heat.
Nearly 74 million people were included in the study.
The average urban heat island index by area ranged from 5.8 degrees in Las Vegas to 8.6 degrees in New York. These areas have the highest citywide averages, according to Climate Central:
New York - 8.6 degrees
Newark, New Jersey - 8.4 degrees
Miami - 8.3 degrees
Seattle - 8.1 degrees
New Orleans - 8 degrees
Detroit - 8 degrees
Chicago - 7.9 degrees
Minneapolis - 7.8 degrees
San Francisco - 7.7 degrees
Portland, Oregon - 7.7 degrees
Boston - 7.7 degrees
Dallas - 7.7 degrees
Baltimore - 7.7 degrees
Sacramento’s citywide average is 7.1 degrees.
What are Sacramento city leaders doing?
The solution to reducing the urban heat island effect isn’t as individual as turning the water off while brushing your teeth or using reusable totes to bag your groceries.
Trudeau said the biggest shifts will come from city leaders who implement changes like adding more green spaces in your area, painting roofs and pavement lighter colors and replacing rooftops with vegetation.
“We can’t change history, can’t totally change our city,” the Sacramento resident said “but we can retrofit them, we can make changes to make them safer.”
Jennifer Venema, the city’s climate action lead, said the urban heat island effect is a “key” issue officials are working to address through its 2040 General Plan and Climate Action and Adaption Plan. Updates may include cool roofs in the communities that need them the most, new cooling amenities, shading and extreme heat services.
In an emailed statement, she said the city recently applied for a $5 million grant through the United States Department of Agriculture to expand green spaces in communities with access to few trees.
If or when funding is approved, it will take years before the trees mature and provide ample shading to residents.
In the meantime, Under the California Building Standards Code, new and certain remodels in the Sacramento region must be constructed with roofing material that reflect sun radiation rather than absorb it.
What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
