If You Can’t Take the Heat, Get Off the Island

Sweaty subway brush-ups, the smell of garbage broth brewing in gutters, and most of all the heat -- heat that radiates from everywhere and escapes to nowhere. That’s what New York typically feels like in August. It’s a time when the only people walking the streets on weekends are the tourists and the overworked; everyone else skips town or stays home.

There’s a name for this particular municipal affront: urban heat islands. Asphalt and buildings absorb and radiate heat, and the lack of greenery means less shade and evaporative cooling. At its worst, New York can register 20 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than nearby rural areas (2.7 degrees hotter on average), according to a new report by nonprofit research group Climate Central.