Sedona News – As part of a detailed urban heat island mapping effort this past summer, the results show that the sections of Sedona’s city limits with the largest areas of asphalt and fewest trees – Uptown, the center of West Sedona, and parts of southern Sedona along State Route 179 – experience the worst aspects of the urban heat island effect, similar to heat patterns in many other cities around the country.
This means that in those excessive heat zones, it could be at least 9.1 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than other areas of Sedona, creating excessive heat for those residents. For the last three decades, extreme heat has been the leading cause of weather-related death in the U.S. Understanding how heat interacts with our built environment and how it impacts public health is important. Creating a heat island map is the first important step in addressing this issue. Now that the city knows what parts of the city are experiencing higher levels of heat during the summer, it is partnering with CAPA Strategies to produce a Sedona and regional specific guidebook, which will provide local decisions makers with realistic heat reduction solutions to implement.
This study was conducted through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s heat mapping campaign and in collaboration with Sedona citizens, Arizona’s State Climatologist, CAPA Strategies and students from Arizona State University. Thus far over 65 U.S. cities have participated in such a study, including Dallas, Chicago, Ashville, N.C. and more, with Sedona being the first in Arizona to participate.
For more information and to see a map of Sedona’s urban heat island, please visit Sedona’s Sustainability Department website at www.sedonaaz.gov/your-