A Public Health Heat Warning for the Miami Valley continues today (Thursday), and many communities are setting up cooling centers to help residents cope.
Because of the excessive heat warning issued on Wednesday, the City of Dayton, and other communities, activated their Heat Emergency Plans.
Bill Wharton, with Public Health Dayton & Montgomery County, says, “When you have conditions like we’ve got right now where, during the day the humidity is high, the temperature is high, and you’re getting up into the area of a hundred degrees for the heat indexes, that plus having overnight lows that are staying above seventy degrees, brings about a situation where it’s very difficult for somebody living without air conditioning to be able to get a good night’s sleep and be able to recover the next day.
Wharton adds that “when we get in a situation like that, we want people to be aware that they need to take special precautions and do whatever it takes in their particular situation to try to reduce their risk of some kind of a heat illness.”
Wharton advises that neighbors should check on neighbors, and family members, especially the elderly and those without air conditioning.
And while the excessive heat warning is in effect, recreation centers in Dayton are also serving as cooling centers for the public during regular business hours - Residents can also cool down at one of the City of Dayton’s seven spray parks.
To find out where your closest cooling center is, check with your local government or health agencies.
The heat warning remains in effect until 9:00pm Friday.