Data: Climate Central; Chart: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios
As K-12 students head back to school in New Orleans this week, more will be sitting in classrooms in extreme urban heat zones than the U.S. average, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: The heat island effect can make some neighborhoods notably warmer than others, especially during heat waves.
Flashback: Some regional schools started last year with canceled classes because of inadequate air conditioning.
Driving the news: About 76% of public K-12 students in the 65 most populous U.S. cities attend schools where the heat island effect increases temperatures by at least 8°F, per a new analysis from Climate Central, a climate research group.
Researchers there examined more than 12,000 schools, with nearly 6.2 million students.
The group's analysis is based on its previous work modeling urban heat zones, as well as National Center for Education Statistics data.
What's next: New Orleans is amongcities working to alleviate its heat island effect, with city leaders last year announcing plans to create a heat mitigation plan.