Tornados can break down a house and hurricanes can flood entire cities. But when it comes to paving, extreme heat is the big cheater. It is not acute; It is literally a matter of degrees. A day of 100 degrees seems almost one that is 85. The air does not get darker in warning and the danger is not immediately, like a shot. It is slowly moving and cumulative, like a poison.
Defending against extreme heat is a growing problem, as I learned when investigating the boundaries of weather forecast and how to protect people against the dangers of nature. In some cases, climate change stimulates extreme events in regions where people have little experience with or preparing for the health and other effects of high heat. We saw this with the 2021 heat wave that left hundreds of death over the Pacific Northwest.
It appears that the science of meteorology has become pretty good at predicting high temperatures – but society must go far when it comes to the use of those predictions to keep people safe. I spoke not only with meteorologists, but also with doctors, public health officials, care providers and community leaders. They have all made it clear that good prediction is only the beginning. Given the links that researchers have found between climate change and some extreme heat events, it is tempting to consider this problem as a problem that needs a global solution – for example, measuring the carbon emissions, which is of course crucial. But I was surprised to learn how some simple measures can help and instead of requiring the efforts of globe, they can be implemented at the neighborhood level.
Read more: Why extreme heat is so bad for the human body
I had the opportunity to see such an experiment in action in Hunting Park, a neighborhood about five miles north of the center of Philadelphia. If you take a walk through the neighborhood, you will probably see a number of objects on sidewalks made of ordinary unfinished wooden boards. The project that produced these objects refers to them as “heat postponing areas”, but they are essentially sidewalk planters with a built-in couch and a mounting for a sun-blocking umbrella.
The idea behind these planning benches is simple enough to understand: create some opportunities for residents to find shade on hot days in a neighborhood that is considered a classic urban heat island because of the relative lack of trees. (City data had discovered that tree coverage for the hunting park was 9%, in contrast to 48% for a leafy neighborhood such as rich Chestnut Hill.)
But the process that these shadow stations produced reveals some deeper implications for the fight against heat. At the start of the COVID-19 Pandemie, with lockdowns unbridled and social distance from the order of the day, some community leaders started to worry about summer heat. Libraries, community centers and other facilities, usually hired as cooling centers, were closed. So, Franco Montalto, a professor of civil, architectural and environmental technology of Drexel, looked at solutions from all over the world and began to concentrate on the fundamental power of shade.
Soon a project was underway that included Drexel, city officials, non -profit community organizations and – the most importantly – the residents of the Nongborhood site itself. The approach is known as an participatory design, a method for collecting input from all stakeholders to ensure that the final result meets their needs. Starting with the broad goal of offering more shade, the process expanded in 2021 and eventually resulted in the planters that now stand through the streets.
And because of that work, Hunting Park got more than just some outdoor banks. The community surveys and participatory design discussions have let residents talk about warmth. Hiring local employees to make the planters held the community-oriented project and stimulated more conversations. And as soon as the first planters were installed, they became a visible symbol and stimulated even more discussion. In the end it was all combined into a catalyst to get residents of one of the most popular neighborhoods in Philadelphia to concentrate on the dangers of the health of extreme heat.
When I visited Hunting Park, I saw a planter/bank in front of the house of Priscilla Johnson, a resident for more than 30 years. During the pilot program in 2020, she offered herself to organize one of the planters for her house. “People didn’t really get into the heat. It was just too overwhelming,” says Johnson. That changed after the planters arrived. “I came out more than ever, sitting on my couch. Other people came and sat outside and the children loved it.” Johnson says that neighbors the way the planter looked at her house and would come and ask for asking about it. “As soon as everyone saw what they were, I got all kinds of” oh, I want a bench! “And I explained it, it’s not just about beautifying your house.
Johnson told me that her own consciousness of heat sailing has grown thanks to the planter initiative and she is now more aware of the Heat Island that is hunting park. “Everything I knew was that it was just hot,” she says. “I think I just had to deal with the heat, not knowing that we are in an area where it is very hot.” Johnson also told me that she had become more aware of the health risks of warm weather, but she added that it is not something that her own doctor had discussed a lot with her. “I think people should be a little more trained.”
With the summer almost here, seasonal predictions already predict above average heat for large parts of the US, including New England and parts of the West. As we get closer to July, meteorologists can tell us with more certainty about any extreme heat events that are being played. Thanks to modern prediction we can see these dangers on the road. But converting those predictions into better results means taking action – even something as apparently fundamental as a neighborhood give a few shady places to sit.
This is a edited fragment from the new book by Weber, Cloud Warriors: Deadly Storms, Climate Chaos – and the pioneers who create a revolution in weather forecast. Copyright © 2025 by the author and reprinted through the permission of the publication group of St. Martin.
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