In the United States — where hurricanes, tornadoes and floods are a fact of life — the meteorological phenomenon that kills the most is none other than heat
Silver Spring, United States: The phone's home screen shows 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32C) in Silver Spring, a suburb of Washington, on a mid-August day. But the reality is more complex — in terms of heat exposure, not all parts of the city are equal.Maria Velez, 53, knows she is lucky to live next to a creek. A stone's throw from her house, other neighborhoods with small apartment buildings are far more built-up and much less green.That is the perfect recipe for creating heat islands, recording much higher temperatures sometimes across just a few streets. The phenomenon is becoming more and more dangerous because of the global climate crisis.In the United States — where hurricanes, tornadoes and floods are a fact of life — the meteorological phenomenon that kills the most is none other than heat.This is why Velez, a resident concerned about the subject, chose to participate in a campaign aimed at mapping these heat islands in Montgomery County, where she lives, just to the north of the American capital.The initiative is headed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which for six years has made it possible to study some 70 counties across the country, with the help of residents."I signed up right away," Velez, a criminology professor, told AFP. "I thought this is exactly what the county should be doing. We should be learning about what's going on with climate change, and what the impacts are."She and her husband hang a sensor, which looks like a can on the end of a rod, out the passenger side of their gray family car. Once turned on, the device records the temperature, humidity, time and its exact position every second.The couple was assigned a route of about 10.6 miles (17 km), to be covered at no more than 35 miles per hour (55kph), covering a large part of the city.Within an hour, they return to their starting point, where county employees await them, retrieving the sensor and noting any difficulties encountered — in their case, a failed roundabout exit that led them to make the turn twice.T-shirts with the words "Street Scientist" are handed out to thank the volunteers.