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Cooling center

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Interior of a large hall in Los Angeles Central Library
Los Angeles Central Library, a designated cooling center.

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,[1] 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 90 °F (32 °C) 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.[13]

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.[3][5][6] Another health measure sometimes taken during heat waves is to extend operational hours at public beaches and swimming pools.[6][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.[3][5][15][16]

Informal

Shopping malls have been used as informal cooling centers by people during extreme heat events.

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%).[2][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Cooling Centers | 211LA". 211la.org. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  2. ^ a b 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. 150: 102821. Bibcode:2023AppGe.15002821D. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2022.102821. ISSN 0143-6228. S2CID 254332830.
  3. ^ a b c d "Excessive Heat Prompts Opening of Cooling Centers" (PDF) (Press release). Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management. August 11, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Find a Cooling Center". New York City Office of Emergency Management. The City of New York. 2013. Archived from the original on 2010-07-04.
  5. ^ a b c "City Service: City Cooling Centers". City of Chicago: The City of Chicago's Official Site. City of Chicago. 2010–2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-08. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  6. ^ a b c "Heat Safety". City of Boston. July 25, 2016.
  7. ^ "Map: Cooling centres and swimming pools open in Toronto". Global National. 2012-06-19. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  8. ^ Shum, David (July 7, 2016). "Extended heat warning prompts cooling centres to open in Toronto". Global News. Corus Entertainment Inc. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  9. ^ "Cooling Centers". Keep Cool Illinois. State of Illinois. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  10. ^ "List of cooling centers in Western Washington". KIRO7. Cox Media Group. August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  11. ^ Office of the Mayor (June 25, 2015). "Cooling shelter locations announced ahead of heat wave" (Press release). City of Seattle. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  12. ^ Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen (August 3, 2018). "Europe deals with heatwave from Portugal to a Finnish supermarket". Reuters. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  13. ^ a b 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. 18 (9): 4801. doi:10.3390/ijerph18094801. ISSN 1660-4601. PMC 8125005. PMID 33946281.
  14. ^ "Governor Cuomo Directs New York State Parks to Offer Extended Hours at Swimming Facilities During Heat Wave". New York State (Press release). Albany, NY. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  15. ^ "Emergency Preparedness and Response: Extreme Heat Cooling Centers by State". NCHH. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  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. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7124a1. ISSN 0149-2195. PMID 35709011. S2CID 249710057.
  17. ^ "L.A.'s 'informal' cooling centers are used more than official ones". Sustainable LA Grand Challenge. 2022-12-19. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  18. ^ Colgan, David (December 19, 2022). "Beating the heat in L.A.: County's 'informal' cooling centers are used more than official ones". UCLA. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
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