Research for People & Planet Webinar Series | Daily Heat and Firearm Violence in 100 US Cities

Firearm violence is a leading public health crisis in the US. And now a new study has attributed almost 8,000 US shootings in recent years to above-average temperatures.

Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and the University of Washington analyzed daily temperatures and shootings in the 100 US cities with the largest burden of gun violence from 2015-2020. They found that a sizeable proportion of firearm shootings in these cities is linked to unseasonably high daily temperatures, both during the summer and throughout the year.

In this webinar, we explore the study and its implications for reducing gun violence in the US, including the importance of heat adaptation strategies as part of urban climate action planning. Presented by study co-authors Emma Gause, Research Scientist, and Jonathan Jay, Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health.