DALLAS — The City of Dallas is an urban heat island.
"It's been known for a long time that it is one of the worst urban heat islands in the country," said Dr. Rose Jones, a medical anthropologist with Rapid Anthropology Consulting.
A recent study with the City of Dallas and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows some areas of Dallas are ten degrees warmer than others.
About 103.3 square miles were studied for one day back in August 2023.
It showed neighborhoods like Love Field, Medical District, Oak Lawn, Oak Cliff and Deep Ellum with higher temperatures than areas like William Blair Jr. Park with more greenery.
Studies showed the industrial-commercial areas with uniform building layouts had more concentrated heat throughout the day. Meanwhile, fully shaded streets reduce residents' exposure to high temperatures. Large preserved nature areas were also cooler throughout the day.
Unlike green areas with trees and water, neighborhoods with more asphalt and cement will get hotter because heat traps in that material. Car emissions and air conditioning pollution can make it worse too.
"Extreme heat is the number one health and death threat from climate change," said Dr. Jones. "We know certain particular areas that lack green space, that lack tree cover [...] historically from poor marginalized Black and Brown communities tend to have less nature infrastructure if you will. And as a result, their temperatures can be quite higher than other areas of town."
Dr. Jones believes this is a public health concern. She said every city needs a climate action plan that prioritizes heat.
Dallas' Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability has an 8-sector environmental and climate action plan. Though heat is not specified, the topic is tied into their initiatives, including the heat island study and planting more trees.
Planting greenery is the obvious long-term solution, but Dr. Jones said there are other ways like painting roads and roofs white or installing cooling pavements to help immediately. She said more needs to be done to help Dallas residents.
WFAA reached out to the City of Dallas regarding their climate plan and are waiting for a response.