2023 Heat Watch Campaign

On July 13, 2023, the McAuliffe Center led a group of local cities and towns including Framingham, Natick, Ashland, and Holliston and partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to contribute to the 2023 Heat Watch Campaign sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in collaboration with Climate Adaptation Planning and Analytics (CAPA Strategies).

MetroWest Heat Watch Data Explorer - Generated by Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Heat Watch Volunteers in their car and a dog in the back seat

Heat Watch Partners representing McAuliffe Center, MAPC, Framingham Sustainability and the town of Holliston sustainability

Heat Watch volunteers in action driving on their route

Heat Watch volunteers getting sensor training from McAuliffe Center employee

heat watch volunteers driving on their route in their car

Our Volunteers:

Drove a car and navigated a route in high heat areas to collect temperature and humidity data. Their contribution will reveal the distribution of heat across our region, helping local cities and towns plan future relief strategies.
Received necessary equipment and detailed campaign day information.
Attended a one-hour mandatory training session in-person or remotely on June 28, 2023 at 6:00pm.
Collected data on our target campaign date, July 13, 2023, by choosing between three shifts in the morning (6:00-7:00am), afternoon (3:00-4:00pm), and evening (7:00-8:00pm).

Heat Watch Volunteer getting sensor training at check in table from two McAuliffe Center staff as NBC10 records the process

In The News

NBC10 Boston (Video): Mapping Extreme Heat in Massachusetts

Metropolitan Area Planning Council: Harnessing Community Science to Better Understand Urban Heat Island Challenges in the MetroWest

Framingham State University: Framingham State’s McAuliffe Center Plays a Leading Role in Regional Climate Adaptation Efforts with Heat Mapping Campaign

Natick Report: Heat Mapping Project in Natick May Reveal Disproportionate Effects of Extreme Heat

Framingham Source: McAuliffe Center-led Heat Mapping Campaign Identifies Urban Heat Islands Where Temperatures Register More than 10 Degrees Hotter Than Greener Areas

NOAA Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign Locations. 15 in the United States of America. 1 in Chile. Click to enlarge map — click to enlarge map

About Heat Watch

Over the past six years, NOAA has funded CAPA Heat Watch to support 150+ communities across the United States in mapping their urban heat islands (UHI). CAPA Strategies has developed a process to help cities plan and execute a volunteer-based community science field campaign that builds upon local partnerships, engages residents in a scientific study to map and understand how heat is distributed in their communities, and produces high-quality outputs that have been used in city sustainability plans, public health practices, urban forestry, research projects, and other engagement activities.

Watch this video to learn more about the health risks of extreme heat: How Extreme Heat Overwhelms the Human Body (1:26)