2LT International News
Arizona wants more cooling centers, ensure homes have working ACs
May 8, 2024
PHOENIX, ARIZONA: The daily average temperature of 97 F (36.1 C) in June, July and August surpassed the previous record of 96.7 F (35.9 C) set in 2020.
In July, Phoenix also set a record with a 31-day streak of highs at or over 110 F (43.3 C).
Last week, Arizona’s new heat officer, Dr. Eugene Livar, said that as part of efforts to prevent heat-related deaths in the state, which totaled 900 in 2023, he is working with local governments and non-profit groups to open more cooling centers and ensure homes have working air conditioners this summer.
“We do not want to see that happen again. We cannot control it, even though we can control our preparation in response. And that is what we have been focusing on,” said Livar, a physician with the Arizona State Department of Health Services, at a news conference to kick off Arizona Heat Awareness Week May 6 to May 10.
Earlier this year, Governor Katie Hobbs appointed Livar to his post, making him the first state heat officer in the U.S.
The increased coordination in Arizona comes as federal agencies aim to better protect people from the dangerous heat waves arriving earlier, lasting longer, and growing in intensity.
In April, the National Weather Service and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a new online heat-risk system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors with a simplified and color-coded seven-day forecast.
In the summer of 2023, Phoenix experienced the hottest three months since records began in 1895, including the hottest July and the second-hottest August.
The daily average temperature of 97 F (36.1 C) in June, July, and August surpassed the previous record of 96.7 F (35.9 C) set in 2020. In July, Phoenix also set a record with a 31-day streak of highs at or over 110 F (43.3 C).
As part of the new measures, Arizona will introduce around half a dozen mobile cooling centers made with solar-powered shipping containers, which can be moved to any required location.
For the first time this summer, the City of Phoenix will also open two 24-hour cooling centers, one in a downtown public library and the other in a seniors’ center.
