UrbanHeatATL is mapping Atlanta’s temperatures to help those in danger of the heat

This map of a portion of Atlanta shows some of the data collected by volunteer community scientists with UrbaHeatATL. The program has collected over 100 hours of temperature information so far.

Courtesy of UrbanHeatATL

When Chloe Kiernicki leaves her house near Georgia Tech, she takes the temperature wherever she walks.

She has what’s basically a very fancy thermometer that she clips onto her bag that records the temperature as she goes, noting when and where it’s hotter or cooler as she moves around her neighborhood.

What she finds as she walks around would probably be familiar to many Atlantans in the summer: smaller streets with trees shading the sidewalk feel cooler than bigger streets with lots of lanes, surrounded by parking lots.