PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A heat health emergency issued by the city of Philadelphia begins at 9 a.m. Thursday and will remain in place until 8 p.m. Saturday. City officials say this may be extended if the forecast worsens.
“This will be the highest heat that we've seen all summer,” said James Garrow at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
Garrow says everyone, especially older folks, should be mindful of the extreme temperatures over the coming days, “but really anyone who doesn't have access to air conditioning is potentially in danger.”
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Meteorologist Ray Martin with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, says temperatures can be expected to reach the upper 90s on Thursday and Friday.
“It looks like those will be the hottest days,” Martin said. “Heat indexes may top 105. So that's going to be pretty hot, hottest weather we've had all year.”
Garrow said the city is activating its cooling centers so that people have access to an air-conditioned place where they can cool off and hang out during the day. The cooling centers will operate with extended hours at Free Library and Parks and Recreation locations Thursday through Saturday. Officials say locations and hours may change if the emergency is extended.
Resources
— Cooling center locations
— Parks and Recreation pool and sprayground locations
— Philadelphia extreme heat guide
Garrow added, if the temperature at night doesn't get low enough, people's bodies won't have time to recover.
“For folks who don't have air conditioning at home, their house can retain that heat from the hottest part of the day and really keep them in a dangerous situation overnight.”
Nolan Lawrence, help line director with the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging recommends checking up on neighbors and loved ones and says anyone without air conditioning must open their windows.
“You want a fresh air flow,” he said.
Heat distress can present itself in a variety of ways, he said.
“People will generally feel anything from thirst to headache, to cramping of — usually we see it in the hands. It could be anything from disorientation to stuttering,” Lawrence said.
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Lawrence says the first thing to do to alleviate symptoms is to hydrate. But, he cautions, just drinking a beverage does not mean it will hydrate properly.
“People will often tell us: Oh, I drank a bunch of coffee or tea or soda,” he said, “and those things are actually dehydrating.”
He says water is the best thing to drink, but Gatorade and other beverages that provide electrolytes are also OK.
Code Red in burbs
Surrounding counties have issued their hot weather warnings and guidance: