Cooling center explained

A cooling center is an air-conditioned public or private space to temporarily deal with the adverse health effects of extreme heat weather conditions, like the ones caused by heat waves.[1] [2] Cooling centers are one of the possible mitigation strategies to prevent hyperthermia caused by heat, humidity, and poor air quality.[3]

As the danger of heat waves has risen in the public consciousness, cooling centers are increasingly used in larger cities such as Los Angeles, New York City,[4] Chicago,[5] Boston,[6] and Toronto,[7] [8] as well as less urban population areas.[3] [9] Cooling centers may also be used in places like Portland and Seattle where home air conditioning is rare but summer can bring temperatures exceeding 90F for several days.[10] [11] Similarly, during the 2018 heat wave and fires that reached northern Scandinavia, a supermarket in Finland was temporarily used as a cooling center.[12]

As various studies have projected more intense, more frequent, and longer-lasting heat waves in the future, many state and federal governments in the US would be including cooling centers as part of their heat adaptation strategy and warning system.

Organization and ownership

Formal

In general, formal or official cooling centers are implemented and operated by a variety of local actors such as municipalities, fire departments, county agencies, and non-profit organizations.[13] They are usually sited at multiple locations throughout a municipality, such as public libraries, community centers, senior centers, and police stations. Another health measure sometimes taken during heat waves is to extend operational hours at public beaches and swimming pools.[14] Some cities, particularly Barcelona, Spain, have recently instated a network of climate shelters, which are broader forms of cooling shelters that aim to provide refuge from extreme weather events as the effects of climate change worsen.

Cooling centers provide shade, water, and restrooms; medical attention and referrals to social services may also be offered. Their services are aimed at the homeless, those without access to adequate air conditioning and at-risk populations such as the elderly, children and those with mental disability or chronic medical conditions.[15] [16]

Informal

Informal cooling centers are places such as shopping malls, markets, pools, recreation centers or businesses that people use during extreme heat.[17] A University of California, Los Angeles study published online in January 2023 in the journal Applied Geography analyzed smartphone data to examine how formal and informal cooling centers were being used in Los Angeles County. Researchers found that overall, about 20% of the population used cooling centers. Of the population that used cooling centers, 90% used 610 shopping malls and other informal cooling centers in the study rather than county cooling centers (10%).[18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cooling Centers 211LA . 2022-10-21 . 211la.org.
  2. Derakhshan . Sahar . Bautista . Trisha N. . Bouwman . Mari . Huang . Liana . Lee . Lily . Tarczynski . Jo . Wahagheghe . Ian . Zeng . Xinyi . Longcore . Travis . 2023-01-01 . Smartphone locations reveal patterns of cooling center use as a heat mitigation strategy . Applied Geography . en . 150 . 102821 . 10.1016/j.apgeog.2022.102821 . 254332830 . 0143-6228. free . 2023AppGe.15002821D .
  3. Excessive Heat Prompts Opening of Cooling Centers . Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management . August 11, 2016 . PDF .
  4. Web site: Find a Cooling Center . New York City Office of Emergency Management . The City of New York . 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100704155727/http://gis.nyc.gov/oem/cc/index.htm . 2010-07-04 .
  5. Web site: City Service: City Cooling Centers . City of Chicago: The City of Chicago's Official Site . City of Chicago . 2010–2016 . 2016-08-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160808235039/http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/fss/provdrs/emerg/svcs/city_cooling_centers.html . 2016-08-08 . dead .
  6. Web site: Heat Safety . City of Boston . July 25, 2016.
  7. News: Map: Cooling centres and swimming pools open in Toronto. https://archive.today/20130124022640/http://www.globalnational.com/map+cooling+centres+and+swimming+pools+open+in+toronto/6442663948/story.html. dead. 2013-01-24. Global National. 2012-07-06. 2012-06-19.
  8. News: Extended heat warning prompts cooling centres to open in Toronto . July 7, 2016 . David . Shum . Global News . Corus Entertainment Inc. . August 12, 2016.
  9. Web site: Cooling Centers . Keep Cool Illinois . State of Illinois . 2016 . 2016-08-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160813162349/http://www.illinois.gov/KeepCool/SitePages/CoolingCenters.aspx . 2016-08-13 . dead .
  10. News: List of cooling centers in Western Washington . August 16, 2012 . KIRO7 . Cox Media Group . August 12, 2016.
  11. Cooling shelter locations announced ahead of heat wave . June 25, 2015 . Office of the Mayor . City of Seattle . August 12, 2016 . July 19, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150719104727/http://murray.seattle.gov/cooling-shelters-locations-announced-ahead-of-heat-wave/#sthash.ZkktHMh2.YetppBoS.dpbs . dead .
  12. News: Europe deals with heatwave from Portugal to a Finnish supermarket . Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen . . August 3, 2018 . August 7, 2018.
  13. Kim . Kyusik . Jung . Jihoon . Schollaert . Claire . Spector . June T. . 2021-04-30 . A Comparative Assessment of Cooling Center Preparedness across Twenty-Five U.S. Cities . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health . en . 18 . 9 . 4801 . 10.3390/ijerph18094801 . 1660-4601 . 8125005 . 33946281. free .
  14. Governor Cuomo Directs New York State Parks to Offer Extended Hours at Swimming Facilities During Heat Wave . July 26, 2016 . Albany, NY . New York State . August 12, 2016 . February 8, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170208004415/https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-directs-new-york-state-parks-offer-extended-hours-swimming-facilities-during . dead .
  15. Web site: Emergency Preparedness and Response: Extreme Heat Cooling Centers by State . 2022-10-21 . NCHH . en-US.
  16. Mallen . Evan . Roach . Matthew . Fox . Laura . Gillespie . Elizabeth . Watkins . Lance . Hondula . David M. . Vaidyanathan . Ambarish . Manangan . Arie . Perkins . Ayana N. . Schramm . Paul J. . 2022-06-17 . Extreme Heat Exposure: Access and Barriers to Cooling Centers — Maricopa and Yuma Counties, Arizona, 2010–2020 . MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . 71 . 24 . 781–785 . 10.15585/mmwr.mm7124a1 . 0149-2195 . 35709011 . 249710057. free .
  17. Web site: 2022-12-19 . L.A.'s 'informal' cooling centers are used more than official ones . 2023-04-13 . Sustainable LA Grand Challenge . en.
  18. Web site: Colgan . David . December 19, 2022 . Beating the heat in L.A.: County's 'informal' cooling centers are used more than official ones . 2023-04-13 . UCLA . en-US.

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