CBS News reported the Region 2 TCTAC WE ACT for Environmental Justice is studying the data behind the disparities in heat-related deaths in New York City. "The neighborhoods that are the most heat vulnerable now are neighborhoods that were previously redlined," said WE ACT resiliency coordinator Caleb Smith. "It's nearly a 1 to 1, if you look at the maps and overlay them." WE ACT worked with the city to develop the Heat Vulnerability Index, which indicates the correlation between tree coverage and temperatures, as well as access to air conditioning and average income levels. Smith demonstrated the difference shade can make, using a heat gun to calculate ground temperatures in real time.
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