As temperatures rise in Va., researchers report sparsely located cooling centers

Summertime heat has long been a characteristic of the Southeast, referenced in hundreds of films, reports and books.

“Maycomb was a tired old town, even in 1932,” author Harper Lee wrote of the fictional Alabama town where the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place. “Somehow, it was hotter then. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning.”

Although Virginia has traditionally been cooler than the Roll Tide state, the U.S. has set new records for high temperatures this summer. But even as summers get hotter due to climate change, research recently accepted to be published in the journal Southeast Geographer shows government-run cooling centers, which provide an opportunity for the public to beat the heat, are sparsely located throughout the state and mostly centralized in urban areas. To avoid grave health issues in underserved areas, state emergency management should collaborate with public health officials to make the centers available to more people, the researchers further say.

“We have to better manage how we respond to extreme heat to keep people safe, while also acknowledging that we need to be acting more rapidly to reach zero emissions from heat- trapping gasses so we can halt and ultimately, hopefully turn back climate change,” said Jeremy Hoffman, director of climate justice and impact at the environmental justice group GroundworkUSA, and one of the cooling center researchers.

Temperatures in some areas of the U.S. have recently reached triple digits; Phoenix, for example, reached 110 degrees or more for 11 consecutive days. In Virginia, last Thursday marked the hottest day of the year, with weather monitors at Dulles International Airport reaching 96 degrees.