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Those living in the Reno-Sparks area know it gets hot in the summer — but some areas get much hotter than others.
Scientists with Desert Research Institute (DRI) have released the results of an early August project that captured a snapshot of heat disparity across the Reno-Sparks area, an effort that required nearly 150 volunteers taking 161,000 measurements of temperature and humidity at designated times over the course of one day.
What the data reveals is startling.
Temperatures taken at the same time across the nearly 200 square miles where measurements were made varied by up to 23 degrees, meaning that while some residents were enjoying a cool morning, other residents were already baking in heat. In the evening, some areas saw temperatures drop while others continued to sizzle.
Much of that temperature difference was driven by elevation changes, according to UNR geography professor Tom Albright, who led the Reno project, “but that doesn’t diminish the fact there’s still a pretty substantial difference.”
“That people in our community at a given point in time during the day can be experiencing a 20-degree difference in temperature really tells us different points in the community are experiencing heat differently and are more exposed to the dangers of heat,” he said.
The high in Reno the day of the project (Aug. 10) was 99 degrees.
The discrepancy in the Reno-Sparks area was more than twice the temperature difference measured in Las Vegas, where a similar study undertaken in 2022 showed an 11-degree difference between the warmest and coolest portions of Sin City.
Scientists who participated in the Reno study believe the snapshot is illustrative of temperature patterns and differences the region sees throughout the summer, indicating that people living, working or learning in different areas have vastly different exposure to high temperatures. And it’s not just daytime heat that affects people — comfortable sleeping temperatures are critical to allow people to recover from daytime heat exposure, according to Albright.
The hottest places across Reno-Sparks tended to be across the valley floors, particularly in areas with extensive swaths of parking lots and roadways and fewer trees. The coolest areas were found in neighborhoods along the Mount Rose Highway, which sits at a higher elevation and is surrounded by mature trees. (View an interactive map here.)
Industrialized areas of Reno-Sparks adjacent to Interstate 80 and Interstate 580 remained the warmest heading into the evening hours, while valleys further from these core areas cooled substantially. Some of those low-lying valleys far from the urban center were also cooler in the morning than some higher elevation areas.
The information gathered can be used to model a digital twin of the Reno-Sparks area to simulate various heat mitigation strategies, according to John Mejia, associate research professor of climatology at DRI. It also increases understanding of uneven effects of heat such as increased air conditioning costs and higher water demand, and how socioeconomic factors play into where the hottest spots are in Reno-Sparks.
Those involved in the study are planning a May heat summit to discuss the results with community members and local government officials.
Collecting the data “was just the beginning,” Albright said. “We want to look toward how we are going to use this to make decisions for everything from land use … to looking at OK, these are hot places. We need to make sure people in those neighborhoods know how dangerous those neighborhoods are.”
The project was part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s (NOAA) Heat Island Mapping Campaign, an ongoing effort to collect detailed heat-related data from cities around the world. NOAA is one of the agencies that could see drastic changes under incoming President Donald Trump’s administration.
In the weeds:
Protection plan takes flight — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed protections under the Endangered Species Act for a rare Nevada butterfly.
The bleached sandhill skipper lives only in Northern Nevada in three alkali wetlands created by highly mineralized thermal springs.
The insect faces multiple threats including declining groundwater levels brought on by agricultural production and a proposed geothermal energy project. Recent surveys have identified fewer than 1,000 butterflies.
A final rule will be issued within one year.
Federal appointment — Nevada Department of Agriculture Director J.J. Goicoechea is one of just 15 people nationally to be appointed to a committee that will advise the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on implementation of its new Public Lands Rule, an effort to put conservation on equal footing with other uses such as mineral extraction and grazing.
Goicoechea will serve a two-year term on the National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the BLM Public Lands Rule.
When it rains, it pours: California and Alaska lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to establish an atmospheric river forecasting program to better predict timing and location of these types of storms.
Atmospheric rivers are large channels of water in the sky that are critical for relieving Western drought but also cause about $1 billion annually in damages. As climate change intensifies, that damage is expected to double or triple by the end of the century.
Reservation improvements — The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Nevada Clean Energy Fund and Walker River Paiute Tribe a $20 million grant to the Walker River Reservation, where approximately 1,200 tribal members live.
The project will provide home energy upgrades to 150 households, create a community resilience hub that will provide shelter in emergencies (including extreme heat events) and allow the tribe to complete critical water infrastructure expansion.
The project was one of 84 proposals funded nationwide.
It’s easy being green — The Nevada Clean Energy Fund is offering forgivable loans for energy audits to certain qualified households.
Participants will be issued loans to cover the cost of an energy audit from a state-licensed energy auditor, and that loan will be forgiven in full if the household implements a recommended home upgrade within six months.
Ash Meadow protection — The federal government has agreed to withdraw 269,000 acres of public land around Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge from mining exploration for two years following substantial outcry.
The refuge is home to two dozen endemic species as well as the endangered Devils Hole pupfish. The agency will use the pause to review a potential longer, 20-year withdrawal.
ICYMI:
Here’s what else I’m reading (and listening to) this week:
Enjoy a visual feast compiled by a photographer who spent a decade documenting plant and wildlife in America’s last remaining old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, shared by NPR.
Grist looks at how the Los Angeles wildfires will threaten California’s already fragile insurance system.
Nearly a quarter of animals relying on freshwater sources are facing extinction, via The Associated Press.
Data centers require copious amounts of energy. A center proposed for the Reno area has drawn a lawsuit from the Sierra Club, The Nevada Current reports.
A closer look:
It’s a dry January in more ways than one. Reno hasn’t seen snow in a month and Las Vegas hasn’t seen any form of precipitation in six months.
