Cool Neighborhoods NYC: A Data-Driven Approach to Keep Communities Safe and Adapt New York City to Rising Temperatures and Extreme Heat Events

More Americans die from heat waves every year than from all other extreme weather events combined.
Higher average temperatures, growing urban areas—especially their increasing elderly
populations—and projections of more intense, frequent, and longer heat waves make heat an urgent
environmental and health challenge. The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) projects up to
a 5.7°F increase in New York City (NYC) average temperatures and a doubling of the number of days
above 90°F by the 2050s. Periods of extreme heat have a profound effect on human health, particularly
older adults, those without access to air conditioning, and those with a variety of health conditions. In
New York City, specifically, extreme heat is the number one cause of mortality from extreme weather.
Every year, NYC experiences an average of 450 heat-related emergency department visits, 150 heat-
related hospital admissions, and 13 heat-stroke deaths. The City also averages about 115 excess deaths
from natural causes exacerbated by extreme heat annually. Heat and rising temperatures threaten
NYC’s livability -- a threat that will continue to increase in the absence of strategies to make our city
more heat resilient as our climate changes.
Cool Neighborhoods NYC is an innovative citywide effort to tackle the health and equity challenges
posed by rising temperatures and extreme heat events. Since the release of Cool Neighborhoods NYC in
June 2017, New York City has been at the leading edge of heat adaptation; working to apply climate and
weather information to capital investments and policy decisions, and to reduce future risk through a mix
of legislation for building upgrades, neighborhood-specific spending for heat mitigation, community-
based planning, and climate risk training. This comprehensive approach expands the Mayor’s Office’s
aggressive climate resiliency agenda.
In this presentation, we will discuss New York City’s efforts to build resilience, improve communication
of climate and health science, provide decision support and capacity building for a variety of
stakeholders, and work closely with municipal city managers and first responders and informers. We will
share some of the progress of the Cool Neighborhoods NYC strategy, describe the needed collaborative
approach between government agencies, impacted communities and academic partners, and discuss
the emerging challenges we face in addressing the public health risks of climate change.