News

Fixing Baltimore’s Unequal Weather Data Coverage

April 13, 2026
Waugh et al. describe a partnership between universities, state agencies, and Baltimore residents to build the Baltimore Community Weather Network (BCWN) that addresses the missing data coverage around the city. Unlike the patchwork of personal weather stations, community members participating in the BCWN are from underserved areas in the city and are actively involved in data collection and interpretation.

Baltimore residents tracking climate change through new Morgan State weather station project

December 6, 2025
Through the program, residents are helping to collect data from the weather stations for the collaborative, instead of being detached from the research taking place in their neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Data Project Probes Environmental Challenges

Even with diminished federal funding, organizers of the Baltimore-Social Environmental Collaborative plan to empower community members to keep collecting data and putting it to use.

Potential Crisis Looms with Loss of Environmental Health Research

How extreme weather affects urban areas "is currently a big unknown," said Zaitchik, principal investigator of the now-defunded DOE research project known as the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative.

BSEC April 2025 Quarterly Research Update

BSEC research work over the past four months has spanned all scientific themes in the project

BSEC January 2025 Quarterly Research Update

Over the past several months, most BSEC research theme teams have focused on data analysis and model evaluation related to summer data collection. This has included substantial studies of the air pollution, extreme heat, and vegetation datasets collected in collaboration with Equitable Pathways Steering Committee (EPSC) members and other community organizations.

Coastal-Urban-Rural Atmospheric Gradient Experiment (CoURAGE)

Understanding the mechanisms governing the urban atmospheric environment is critical for informing urban populations regarding the impacts of climate change and associated mitigation and adaptation measures.

How Johns Hopkins Scientists and Neighborhood Groups Model Climate Change in Baltimore

Zaitchik and his graduate assistant, Ali Eyni, prepared to ride bicycles on a 17-mile loop of the city, measuring maximum temperatures at the height of a blistering heat wave to record temperature variations between neighborhoods with little tree canopy and those with better tree cover and more green spaces.

BSEC October 2024 Quarterly Research Update

This is the inaugural quarterly BSEC research summary. The purpose of these updates is to provide digestible and timely research updates.

BSEC creates data bank of Baltimore’s environmental health

The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC) brings together scientists, researchers and neighbors to take a deep dive into the ecological health of the city.

June was one of Baltimore’s warmest on record and the 100-degree days aren’t letting up in July

The goal of the project, called the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative, is to inform the city’s climate change planning in the years ahead.

What will it take to make Baltimore a climate-resilient, 21st-century city?

A Johns Hopkins climate scientist set out to study the heat island effect. Now, with millions in federal funding, he’s putting neighborhood concerns at the heart of a five-year, $25 million project on climate change.

Urban Climate Lab Makes Holistic Appraisal of Resilience

The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative will integrate environmental, health and community response data to drive potential climate solutions that support equity and resilience.

Environmental Justice Funding Picking Up Steam In Chesapeake Bay Region

Weather stations on tripods have been popping up around the Baltimore area since spring, beside homes and in churchyards, gardens and vacant lots. They’re mechanical scouts for an ambitious $25 million research project led by Johns Hopkins University.

Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative: Neighborhood Tours + Panel

Site visits of Old Goucher and Broadway East followed by a panel discussion with researchers and community members on climate resilience.

$25 Million to Improve Climate Conditions in Baltimore

The project is collaborating with residents, city agencies and other institutions.

Rebooting Our Warming Cities

A Hopkins-led team [BSEC] says better climate modeling and data can help Baltimore weather a hotter, stormier future.

Defending Baltimore Against Climate Change

A new partnership between Baltimore researchers and community organizations, led by Johns Hopkins University, has received funding to advance understanding of environmental conditions at the neighborhood level and prioritize environmental justice.

Federal Grant Aims to Make Baltimore a Laboratory for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience

For a five-year period starting this month, a team of scientists will study how atmospheric, climatic and environmental factors interact across Baltimore and develop adaptation strategies to make the city climate-change resilient, and equitable.