Tucson Standard

On June 28, by 9:45 a.m., Tucson was already experiencing temperatures in the low 90s, signaling the onset of a sweltering day. Reid Park reflected this with parking lots filled with cars seeking shade under mesquite and palo verde trees. Outdoor workers wore long-sleeved shirts and wide-brimmed hats, carrying large water jugs to combat the heat. Joggers and their dogs struggled through 30% humidity brought on by the monsoon.

Inside a gated area at the park, two trucks resembling those from the movie "Twister" were stationed alongside researchers setting up climate-monitoring instruments. This team from Brookhaven National Laboratory had arrived for six days of field research as part of the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL). Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, this $25 million project aims to understand how extreme heat impacts communities in the Southwest.

The project includes teams from Arizona's three state universities and partnerships with local entities such as the city of Tucson, Pima County, and the National Weather Service.

Ladd Keith, an associate professor in the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona, leads efforts to translate climate data collected in Tucson and Phoenix into actionable guidelines for local governments nationwide. "The goal with this project is to do science that improves the resilience of communities in our state to increasing heat," Keith said.

In 2023, Arizona saw a record high of 987 heat-related deaths, with Phoenix experiencing a 52% increase over 2022. Globally, human-caused climate change has been identified as a major factor in extreme heat events.

Brookhaven's arrival marked possibly the first detailed neighborhood-level climate measurements in Tucson. "These are very specialized tools that allow us to further explore a localized area of the built environment," Keith noted.

Katia Lamer, director of Brookhaven's Center for Multiscale Applied Sensing, managed research conducted with mobile lab trucks equipped with advanced instruments measuring ground and air temperature, pollution particles, wind speed, cloud cover, humidity, and more. "We're filling in these data deserts," Lamer said.

The team's routes were planned in collaboration with city officials and other partners to collect before-and-after data snapshots in areas where rainwater infrastructure will be added or where reflective pavement has been used.

Mark Kear, an assistant professor at UArizona’s School of Geography, Development and Environment, partnered with residents to monitor climate data across 40 Tucson households over summer. His focus is on manufactured homes which have higher rates of heat-related deaths due to inadequate insulation and other issues. "The idea is that we can bring these different data types together to tell a complete story," Kear explained.

The team also utilized balloons capable of collecting weather data up to 16 miles high. On June 28 at Reid Park, they launched one such balloon which burst at its maximum height before falling back down for retrieval via GPS signal.

While it will take months for meaningful insights from this data collection effort to emerge – with peer-reviewed studies expected years later – one immediate finding stood out: Tucson’s extreme weather conditions pushed many instruments to their limits. "This is the hottest... both because the air temperature is hot but also because there’s almost never any relief from clouds," Lamer stated.

Keith emphasized that interpreting these findings into practical measures is crucial for future preparedness against rising temperatures due to climate change. "We know temperatures will continue to increase due to climate change," he said. "So we will work with our city and county partners... so that we are better prepared for our hotter future."