NOAA Research's Climate Program Office is pleased to announce that its Fiscal Year 2020 grant competitions are now open. 

Citizen scientists will take to the streets during the hottest days this summer to map hot spots in ten different U.S. cities. The campaign is part of a NOAA-funded project to map places where buildings, asphalt, and other parts of urban environments can amplify high temperatures, putting people at heightened risk of heat illness during extreme heat events.

In the summers of 2017 and 2018, citizen scientists in Richmond, VA, the District of Columbia, and Baltimore, MD, gathered temperature data all over their cities on days when temperatures reached at least 95°F. The results, as outlined in a NOAA article from 2018, show that air temperatures in some areas of the city can be up to 17°F hotter than other areas during the same time of day. On days when local temperatures climb above 95°F, the additional heat emitted by paved and concrete structures can produce dangerously hot temperatures in some neighborhoods. 

NOAA’s Climate Program Office (CPO), a part of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), has awarded $38.8 million for 78 new projects* in FY 2017. The projects — ranging from advancing the understanding and prediction of drought to building resilience in coastal communities — will expand the breadth and scope of NOAA’s current climate research and offers opportunities for NOAA to collaborate with outside experts and new stakeholders.

CPO’s programs are seeking applications for 7 individual competitions in FY 2018 for an estimated $10 million available and approximately 100 new awards pending budget appropriations. It is anticipated that most awards will be at a funding level between $50,000 and $300,000 per year, with some exceptions for larger awards. Visit cpo.noaa.gov/GrantsandProjects.aspx for more detailed information and instructions.