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On very hot days, Victor Sanchez makes sure to leave his home in the afternoon. 

鈥淭he sun just pours in,鈥� he said of his top-floor, west-facing apartment in Harlem, where he has two fans but no air conditioner. Sanchez usually finds a shaded bench in nearby Morningside Park, sees a film, or rides his bike to the beach, returning home after the relentless sun has begun to set. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just dangerous to stay inside,鈥� he said. 

In 2016, Sanchez, who is 67 and works in public media, helped scientists quantify just how dangerous it is to stay inside during a heat wave. That summer, he and 29 of his neighbors placed sensors in their apartments to collect temperature and humidity data as part of the , a collaboration between the City University of New York (CUNY) and local advocacy and media organizations.

Scientists have long sought public participation to monitor and. But as the planet continues to heat up, government agencies and advocacy groups are increasingly turning toward citizen science to guide their climate resilience efforts鈥攁nd keep residents safe during extreme weather events. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has funded crowdsourced projects in more than 50 cities since 2017, and this August, the Knight Foundation in funding for crowdsourced flood and heat reporting across Miami-Dade County. 

Researchers say community input can be especially valuable in communities like Harlem, where historic disinvestment and racist housing policies, like , have left residents shouldering a disproportionate climate change burden. These neighborhoods are often 鈥攁reas where building density and the lack of trees can make temperatures 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit higher than surrounding areas. Black New Yorkers are twice as likely as white non-Hispanic New Yorkers to , according to city statistics. 

鈥淭he scientific community is leaning into the idea that science can be an ally for justice, and a tool that communities have as they try to repair or address past harms or promote future changes,鈥� said Rajul Pandya, vice president of the American Geophysical Union鈥檚 (AGU) Thriving Earth Exchange, which connects communities across the globe with scientists for collaborative research. 

Satellite-based estimates of ground-surface temperatures can鈥檛 compete with dozens or hundreds of residents using thermometers and infrared cameras to document heat in their neighborhoods鈥攁nd inside their homes. Crowdsourcing rainfall measurements during storms can uncover pockets of severe flooding that flood models often miss. Data like this鈥攅specially when combined with participants鈥� testimonies and feedback鈥攃an guide more targeted investments and interventions, from subsidized air conditioning to conveniently located cooling centers. 

鈥淭he solutions are almost as granular, in some cases, as the threat,鈥� said Julia Kumari Drapkin, CEO and founder of , a community climate and weather platform that was used in the Harlem heat study.

How the Harlem Heat Project Has Heightened Awareness of Heat鈥檚 Dangers 

Researchers have long understood that indoor temperatures, especially in buildings lacking adequate air conditioning, can exceed outdoor temperatures during heat waves鈥攁 phenomenon that Harlem Heat Project researchers refer to as an . But the Harlem Heat Project quantified the wide variance in how Upper Manhattan鈥檚 indoor spaces responded to outdoor conditions, according to Brian Vant-Hull, a research scientist at CUNY鈥檚 Remote Sensing Earth System Institute. Using data collected by participants, Vant-Hull and his colleague, Prathap Ramamurthy, created models that showed how factors like surrounding buildings, building story, and window placement affected indoor temperatures. They also measured the duration of indoor heat waves, which tend to lag a day or two behind outdoor heat waves because of the way buildings often trap and amplify heat. 

But the qualitative data, based on participants鈥� lived experiences, was just as valuable as the quantitative data, according to Kizzy Charles-Guzman, executive director of the NYC Mayor鈥檚 Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. 

Charles-Guzman attended community workshops where respondents described secretly installing air conditioners in public housing apartments, which residents extra if they report having AC. They reported not having access to nearby cooling stations, and some said they hesitated to open their windows for relief for fear of letting polluted air into their homes. At the workshops, residents also suggested solutions, such as more accessible cooling spaces in buildings and alerts that would remind people to check on vulnerable neighbors when temperatures peak.

At the time, Charles-Guzman was already developing the city鈥檚 first heat-adaptation plan, . The Harlem Heat Project, she said, 鈥渧alidated what we had already learned鈥濃�攖hat extreme heat is 鈥渁 silent killer鈥� that affects people in their homes. But, she added, 鈥渢hose stories, about the lack of access to cooling centers, the lack of money to pay the electricity bill, the fear of being caught by [New York City鈥檚 housing authority]鈥攈ad a face thanks to this project.鈥�

This data and community feedback informed 鈥渁 massive advocacy effort,鈥� said Annie Carforo, climate justice campaigns manager of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. WE ACT recruited community researchers for the Harlem Heat Project and used the data they provided to advocate for electricity-bill relief and improvements to and to raise awareness of heat as an emergency, among other , Carforo said. 

This year, New York State dropped some eligibility barriers to the (LIHEAP), which provides free air conditioners and installation for low-income households, resulting in a marked increase in . Local organizations, like the Harlem Emergency Network and East Harlem Community Organizations Active in Disaster, added extreme heat to their priorities. 

But data doesn鈥檛 always translate into immediate action. Sanchez said his application for utility assistance was rejected last winter, despite income loss he believes should have qualified him for the program. Another study participant, Euline Williams, said she never received a response to her LIHEAP application. Now, the air conditioner in her building鈥檚 shared cool space is broken, and the management has yet to repair it. Williams鈥� nearest cooling center is closed for renovations, so she has to travel about 20 blocks to a library instead. 

Carforo said WE ACT is advocating for more city funding for cooling centers, and for that funding to be codified into the city budget.

Climate Research and Adaptation Steered by Locals 

Pandya, of the AGU鈥檚 Thriving Earth Exchange, said he鈥檇 like to see more communities not just participating in research, but also actually directing it. Last year, Thriving Earth Exchange launched a , which gives money to communities 鈥渢o enable them to find scientists that they want to work with on the projects that they think are important,鈥� said Pandya.

Through this new initiative, communities in have measured the benefits of using plants to mitigate air pollution, groups in created a community air pollution monitoring network, and people in South Carolina trained families to use native plants for flood protection.

The AGU and several partnering science organizations have also established a that lets researchers receive academic credit not only for community science projects, but also for project outcomes, such as policy changes or green infrastructure projects. For Pandya, the journal represents 鈥渁n opportunity to push the boundaries of what counts as an output of science.鈥� In its first two issues, the journal has published articles on in research on oceans and human health, and how generational knowledge can further climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Community science is also a valuable public education tool, Charles-Guzman said. put $82 million toward tree plantings in specific neighborhoods, but many New Yorkers didn鈥檛 want the hassle and expense of caring for the trees, and some neighborhoods protested new bioswales by filling them with trash, she said. 

鈥淏ehavior change is the hardest thing, and government wonks are not the right messengers for that,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen you do this kind of project across the city, you鈥檙e raising awareness, creating educational opportunities, and making people lobby their governments for protective measures.鈥� 

Six years after the Harlem Heat Project, some of the participants are still acting on what they learned. Williams said she tries to join her daughter at the beach when it鈥檚 hotter than 90 degrees. And the project has made Sanchez more vigilant about staying cool.

鈥淚t gave me concrete information that I now use even without the sensor,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know, at two or three o鈥檆lock, you really need to get out, especially on very humid days, and you need to have a plan.鈥� 

This article first appeared in  and and was made possible by a grant from the Open Society Foundations. is an editorially independent, nonprofit news service covering climate change. Follow us .

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