The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association will track the hottest parts of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre this year as part of its Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign.
The Urban Heat Island Mapping campaign is in its seventh year. It addresses extreme heat which is the number one weather-related cause of death in the U.S. for the last three decades, according to NOAA.
NOAA says the data collected can be used to "develop hyper-local descriptions of heat," and to help communities find strategies to address extreme heat that fit their community needs.
Urban heat islands are areas with few trees and more pavement that absorbs heat. According to NOAA, these areas can be up to 20 degrees hotter than nearby neighborhoods with less black asphalt and more trees and grass.
Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are on the list of 18 communities that NOAA will map in 2023.