INTERACTIVE MAP Increasing Global Urban Population Exposure to Extreme Heat

The layers in the map below display different municipality-level urban heat data from the new study*. Read the full story: "Exposure to Deadly Urban Heat Worldwide Has Tripled in Recent Decades."

Use mousewheel, buttons, or double-click to zoom; drag and drop to pan. Mouseover points and polygons to view data. Use buttons at lower left to show/hide layers.

• Person-days: Annual increase in the urban population exposed to extreme heat.
• Days WBGT > 30°C: Annual increase in the number of days with extreme heat, defined as above 30°C on the "wet bulb" scale.
• Change - Warming: Percent change in exposure due to total urban warming.
• Change - Population: Percent change in exposure due to urban population growth.
• Base Layer: Urban heat islands (red polygons) where U-R difference = urban minus rural daytime or nighttime temperature difference. (Differences < 2°C omitted; small areas removed; data: CIESIN, 2013).

* Municipalities < 100k population omitted; study data from 1983-2016; Adapted from Tuholske et al., PNAS, 2021.