AI6YR Ben

Bloomberg: Operating the Perfect Cooling Center Is Harder Than It Looks

As temperatures climb, public officials are learning that getting people to come to air-conditioned cooling centers isn’t as easy as just opening the doors.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-08-14/arizona-s-cooling-centers-hold-lessons-for-a-warming-planet

#ClimateEmergency #climate #AC #heatwaves #CoolingCenters #community

Arizona’s Cooling Centers Hold Lessons for a Warming Planet

As temperatures climb, public officials are learning that getting people to come to air-conditioned cooling centers isn’t as easy as just opening the doors.

Bloomberg
Aug 14, 2024 at 5:36pmWeb
Show threadAI6YR BenAug 14, 2024
... "“The population that needs them most — the elderly, the isolated, the poor — is also least likely to know they exist, and they are often hard to reach for that population on dangerously hot days.” #heatwaves #mitigation #climate
Show threadAI6YR BenAug 14, 2024
"Location is another challenge. Because they often use existing infrastructure, “many cooling centers aren’t strategically placed,” says Michael Allen, an associate professor of geography at Towson University. Last year, Allen and his colleagues mapped 1,433 cooling centers across the US Southeast. They found that only 36% of the region’s population — and fewer than 10% of the most vulnerable groups in most states — lived within a 15-minute drive of one." #climateemergency #cooling #heatwaves
Show threadAI6YR BenAug 14, 2024
*** personal note: The people most vulnerable to heat events are the least likely to be able to drive to these, too!!!
Show threadAI6YR BenAug 14, 2024
From the article: "Glen Kenny, a physiology professor at the University of Ottawa, is also among those seeking more intel. Kenny studies heat impacts on the body, and used heat wave simulations to determine that a few hours in a cooling centers can reduce core body temperature and heart strain among elderly people exposed to extreme heat. But he also found that their body temperature spiked to pre-cooling levels within two hours of leaving air conditioning, putting people at risk of overexerting themselves just when they think they’re in the clear." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-08-14/arizona-s-cooling-centers-hold-lessons-for-a-warming-planet #heatwaves #mitigation #heatillness #ClimateEmergency
Arizona’s Cooling Centers Hold Lessons for a Warming Planet

As temperatures climb, public officials are learning that getting people to come to air-conditioned cooling centers isn’t as easy as just opening the doors.

Bloomberg