New Jersey is in the midst of a heat wave, with temperatures reaching well into the 90s. The blast of hot weather comes as scientists announced July is expected to go down as the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. People are being urged to take measures to stay cool as the high temperatures persist, and electric utilities are asking customers to cut power use if possible. PJM, the regional power grid that serves New Jersey and a dozen other states, is bracing for heavy demand.
Everyone will feel the heat, but people in New Jersey’s cities will feel it more because of the urban heat island effect — where temperatures are driven up by heat radiating from concrete and asphalt surfaces, weak breezes are choked out by tightly spaced buildings and there’s a lack of trees and green spaces that would otherwise offer natural cooling.
New analysis by Climate Central, a Princeton-based nonprofit research organization, found that parts of Newark and Elizabeth can be up to 10 degrees hotter than suburban or rural communities at a given time.
Peter Girard, vice president of communications for Climate Central, discusses the analysis.
