Today is expected to be the third and final day of the city's declared heat emergency. If we crack 90 degrees, it will officially be Boston's third heat wave of the summer. Mayor Michelle Wu's heat emergency declaration is set to expire at the end of the day, with showers in the forecast tomorrow to cool things down. However, a new report by local researchers suggests citywide heat warnings may belie the facts on the ground for certain neighborhoods: Feeling the heat: Boston relies on weather data from Logan Airport to decide when to warn residents about dangerously high heat. However, a team of Boston University researchers suspected the cooling ocean breeze at Logan was masking major differences across the city. So, they teamed up with the City of Boston and the business-funded non-profit A Better City to install heat sensors at 15 locations last summer to get a closer read of the conditions across different neighborhoods. - What counts as a heat emergency? According to the city, the threshold for a heat emergency in Boston is two or more days with a heat index of 95+ degrees. Meanwhile, a lesser heat advisory is declared when the head index is forecast to reach above 90 degrees for three consecutive days. (A secondary threshold for each warning is that nighttime temps aren't forecast to fall below 75 degrees.) These declarations are based on a National Weather Service sensor at Logan.
- What did they find? In a report released this week, the "B-Cool" project team found that hotspot neighborhoods with lots of concrete and less shade felt more intense and longer heat emergency conditions compared to leafy or coastal neighborhoods. "Our sensors were catching emergencies and advisories up to two days before the actual official declaration and lasting as long as six days after those official declarations ended," Isabella Gambill, the assistant director of climate, energy and resilience with A Better City, told WBUR's Martha Bebinger.
- Why it matters: Gambill says the results mean outdoor workers and other vulnerable residents in neighborhoods like Chinatown, parts of Roxbury and Mattapan are at risk for heat-related illnesses well before and after high heat events. She also said this data could help tailor early warnings for specific neighborhoods and deploy cooling resources, such as cooling centers or planting new trees for shade.
Good news, night owls: The MBTA is taking another shot at late-night service. As part of the new fall schedules that go into effect Aug. 24, the T will run subway trains and select buses and ferries an extra hour or so on Fridays and Saturdays. Some buses will run later every single day. MBTA General Manager Phil Eng called it a "public service" for restaurant and hospitality workers, as well as anyone out late to " maybe have a beverage or two." Eng told reporters yesterday this is not part of a pilot, stressing that (unlike past late-night T service test runs ) success won't be measured by ridership volume. "We're doing this as part of a regular service change," he said. - Subway: The last Red, Orange, Green and Blue line trains — which currently depart between 12:15 a.m. and 1 a.m., depending on the line — will all be "about an hour later on Fridays and Saturdays," according to T officials. (That's not quite as late as the 3 a.m. service the T tried out in 2014, but it does keep a few lines running closer to the 2 a.m. closing time at bars.)
- Bus: Five popular bus routes — the 23, 28, 57, 111 and 116 — will also run an extra hour seven days a week, with a bus every 30 minutes. The 1, 22, 39, 66, 110, SL1, SL3 and SL5 buses will get a similar extension on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Ferry: From Aug. 29 through Sept. 27, the MBTA's East Boston and Charlestown ferries will run until almost 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, the Hingham/Hull ferry will run until 11 p.m. on Fridays during that period.
- A bonus perk: To encourage riders to try out the extended service, the T is making the entire system — subway, bus, ferry, commuter rail, the RIDE — free after 9 p.m. for a month of Fridays and Saturdays, from Sept. 5 through Oct. 4.
PSA: Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have charged 13 people with allegedly running an international fraud scheme that targeted the elderly. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said scammers in a call center in the Dominican Republic would call seniors and demand money, saying their grandchild or another loved one was hurt or in trouble with the law. The scheme netted $5 million from over 400 victims, with an average age of 84, according to Foley's office. P.S.— Our fall CitySpace lineup is out! This coming season's slate of events includes book talks with prolific journalists like Susan Orlean and Jake Tapper, live podcast tapings, game nights, Moth StorySLAMs and more. Check out the full schedule here. |
