DEC Announces Nearly $2 Million Partnership With SUNY ESF to Study Impacts of Urban Heat Island Effect on Disadvantaged Communities

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar today announced nearly $2 million awarded to the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) to help identify, model, and map urban heat islands; assess extreme heat impacts and responses; and support climate actions to address urban heat island effects and extreme heat in disadvantaged communities across the state.

"Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent in New York State and across the country, significantly impacting our environment and contributing to risks to public health, particularly in disadvantaged communities," Interim Commissioner Mahar said. "DEC is pleased to join with SUNY ESF under Governor Hochul's direction to advance this critical study with our partners to help address extreme heat, identify mitigation strategies, and protect the health and safety of New Yorkers, especially those most vulnerable."

"The use of urban forests and their green cooling services is needed now more than ever to protect vulnerable communities from deadly heatwaves," ESF President Joanie Mahoney said. "By combining the efforts of ESF researchers using the i-Tree Cool Air model developed under the leadership of Dr. Ted Endreny, and leveraging the DEC's expertise, we are committed to creating practical solutions that protect the health and well-being of all New Yorkers. We are very grateful to Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar and his team for continuing to foster the very strong relationship between the DEC and ESF. This is yet another example of the deep connection between our two institutions. We look forward to partnering with the DEC on this important study."

ESF entered a Memorandum of Understanding with DEC funded by the State Environmental Protection Fund to support climate change mitigation and adaptation. The project helps fulfill legislation signed by Governor Hochul in 2022 directing DEC to study the impacts of disproportionate heat conditions in disadvantaged communities and implements recommendations in the recently released Extreme Heat Action Plan.

The project will be led by Dr. Endreny, a professor in ESF's Department of Environmental Resources. ESF will provide expertise, personnel, and administrative support to assist DEC with modeling and mapping extreme heat exposures; identify urban heat islands, including in urban disadvantaged communities; and develop tools to model and identify heat islands and mitigation strategies. The study will inform implementation of a wide range of actions included in the plan to address extreme heat, such as providing technical assistance and scaling implementation of green infrastructure and ecosystem-based adaptations to mitigate urban heat islands in disadvantaged communities. It will identify urban disadvantaged communities with concentrations of heat islands and include recommendations to identify, prevent, and address the hazard. Agencies and communities will be able to use this information to plan and prioritize projects, for example tree planting, to reduce the urban heat island effect.

Communities across the state are susceptible to increased heat due to infrastructure that traps and stores heat throughout the day and reduces cooling at night, which is known as the urban heat island effect. The study will also provide the ability to model the effects of proposed projects to determine their likely effects on urban heat islands to ensure that disadvantaged communities are not further burdened by extreme heat.

Earlier this summer, DEC and NYSERDA released the Extreme Heat in New York State (PDF) report summarizing the impacts of extreme heat, including impacts of concentrations of high heat in urban disadvantaged communities. The Extreme Heat Action Plan (EHAP) and SUNY ESF MOU are complementary to the ongoing coordinated state response to extreme heat emergencies led by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES). DHSES is a member of the EHAP Work Group, which included more than 25 State agencies to collaborate with other local partners on the EHAP, and in June 2023 released an extreme heat-specific annex (PDF) to the State Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. 

With the likelihood of ongoing extreme heat this summer, New York State agencies remain committed and ready to help New Yorkers prepare for heat impacts. Governor Hochul recently encouraged the public to follow a host of actions and tips to help mitigate and prevent deadly heat exposure.

For more information about the Extreme Heat Action Plan, visit DEC's website and watch the webinar recording with State agencies providing an overview on the plan.

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