Thermal Imaging Photos Show New York's Summer Hot Spots

Hello, Fall!

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We wish we knew about artist Nickolay Lamm's infrared photography back in July! Lamm photographed what is refered to as the "heat island effect," caused by dark asphalt, lack of trees, and tall buildings like the ones found in New York City. When things heat up, they stay hot much longer.

As you can see in the photos above, the heat signatures on different points of skyscrapers vary as much as 20 degrees on the same building depending on the time of day, materials, and other factors. Mostly what we see (and have felt) is that most of Manhattan is an oven, which makes us so very grateful for air conditioning. Studying images like these can help city planners understand energy consumption and (hopefully) find solutions that save us from this agony. We only wish that someone would use this technology underground too.

[via PSFK]

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