Getting Started > Step 1. > Step 2. > Step 3. > Step 4. Collect heat data
Collecting Local Heat Data
Why collect data with a collaborative heat monitoring campaign?
The National Weather Service provides detailed daily weather forecasts, and a wealth of national data is already available online. Local data collection can be done by small teams of expert researchers or consultants, without involving local citizens or volunteers. So why is there such a strong interest in collecting local heat data with citizen scientists?
The most important reason to collect local heat data is that it can help your community and local leaders have the best information possible to make decisions about how heat is affecting your area, right now. When citizens work together with local officials, researchers, and other organizations to do science, everyone is more invested in its outcomes and are more prepared to respond to its findings.
When designing a collaborative heat monitoring project, it is important to build a team that includes community members and technical experts. Check out the next page for more information on how to find experts and how they can help your campaign — or reach out to talk to us.
ambient air temperature: air temperature in the environment as measured by an outdoor thermometer or temperature sensor
heat index: combines measurements for relative humidity and air temperature to indicate how the humidity affects what the temperature feels like to the human body; often reported on weather apps as “feels like” temperature.
wet bulb globe temperature: combines measurements of air temperature, windspeed, humidity, and solar radiation to indicate how windspeed, humidity, and direct sunlight affects what the temperature feels like to the human body. Used in military training and in some athletics programs.
CAPA Strategies’ Heat Watch mapping campaigns
Heat Watch campaigns involve a proprietary mobile air temperature sensor developed by CAPA Strategies that is mounted on vehicles and produce a heat map of the city or town. CAPA Strategies previously conducted Heat Watch campaigns through NOAA’s Urban Heat Islands program and is an implementation partner for the Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring.
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Heat Watch campaigns are best known for producing high-quality heat maps of ambient air temperature.
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Heat Watch campaigns are an excellent citizen science project with an important participatory component. Most Heat Watch campaigns involve dozens to hundreds of volunteers who directly participate in data collection.
Stationary outdoor monitoring
These campaigns involve sensors mounted to a pole or attached to a fixed location to collect heat data over weeks, months, or even years. Different types of sensors can be mounted together (for example, heat and air quality sensors) to collect multiple types of data. Weather stations are an example of long-term stationary outdoor monitoring, but many lower-cost options exist.
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This type of campaign will typically produce charts or line graphs indicating changes in ambient air temperature over time. Depending on the number of sensors, their location, and your team’s capacity to develop models from the data, this type of campaign can also produce a map.
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Volunteer scientists can get involved in installation, stewardship, and maintenance of long-term sensors, but this campaign type typically requires less participation from volunteers.
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Your area may already have long-term sensors installed by government agencies such as NOAA, EPA, or your State Climate Office. It’s important to know that low-cost sensors may be less accurate than these research-grade sensors.
Stationary indoor monitoring
These campaigns involve sensors mounted inside buildings or even private homes. Indoor campaigns can help individuals or organizations better understand how indoor heat and air quality may be affecting human health.
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This type of campaign will typically produce charts or line graphs indicating changes in temperature over time.
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Volunteer scientists can get involved in installation, stewardship, and maintenance of long-term sensors, but this campaign type often requires less participation from volunteers once sensors are installed. It is essential that project teams have strong trust with volunteer hosts of sensors, to ensure that they can access and retrieve sensors once the project is complete.
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Hosting a sensor in your home, classroom, or work can be exciting for citizen scientists, especially students, but should be paired with clear procedures for consent and appropriate paperwork to reduce legal liability for all participants. Consider working with a consultant or research institution to obtain IRB approval for indoor studies. For renters, we recommend any obtaining consent from landlords or property managers prior to participating in any indoor study.
Wearable monitoring
Some heat monitors can be attached to clothes or worn directly on the human body to collect measurements on how heat is experienced by an individual. This type of campaign may be most beneficial in workplaces where employers wish to protect worker health and improve productivity. Wearable heat sensor data can be even more valuable when paired with other health data, such as data collected from a Fitbit or similar wearable device worn by the same person.
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This type of campaign will typically produce charts or line graphs indicating changes in ambient air temperature over time.
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This type of campaign directly involves individual citizens in data collection.
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Because collection of data from individuals will involve collection of protected health information and location data, it must be conducted with clear procedures for consent and appropriate paperwork to reduce legal liability for all participants. Consider working with a consultant or research institution to obtain IRB approval for any studies involving wearable sensors and ensure you are in compliance with laws such as HIPAA and FERPA. For workers, we recommend any work with wearable sensors be conducted with explicit consent and approval from your employer.
Complement your heat data with a community heat survey
Qualitative surveys are another type of data that can complement your efforts to collect atmospheric data on heat. Community heat surveys can help you assess heat risk and develop heat resilience plans. In general, surveys can be a helpful way to gather data about your community’s experience with extreme heat and identify important trends, gaps in knowledge or understanding, or areas of concern. Surveys are less helpful for capturing individual experiences or for more complex, nuanced questions that may be better suited for focus groups or community meetings.
Questions about sensors or the data collection methods described here?
Heat science is better together.
The Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring is working towards increasing our capacity to provide consultations and support for community-based heat monitoring campaigns.
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