"In Arizona, researchers are studying playgrounds where the equipment gets so hot it can burn kids’ skin. As heat worsens nationwide, other communities will need to take note."
"TEMPE, Ariz.—It was just before 8 a.m., yet the temperature was already nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit as members of Arizona State University’s SHaDe Lab lugged a ladder and their heat-measuring equipment to Kiwanis Park.
Nobody else was at the playground but one child coasting down a slide and her mother. Across the street at the local elementary school, the principal could be heard giving his morning address over the PA system: “Another heat advisory today,” he warned. “I saw a group of girls having some nice conversation in the shade yesterday and I encourage you all to do the same.”
In the nation’s hottest major metro area, with this summer seeing a record-smashing 100-plus days of temperatures above 100 degrees, extreme heat is an increasing danger to children playing outdoors. Researchers have found that the rubber on slides, the metal railings on playgrounds and even the rubber tiles that protect children when they fall can all exceed 150 degrees when in direct sunlight in Arizona. Three seconds of contact is all it can take to burn a child’s skin.
It’s an issue across the country, as climate change has led to 14 straight record-high monthly global temperatures, with Midwestern cities like Chicago seeing an unprecedented heatwave in August."
Wyatt Myskow reports for Inside Climate News September 24, 2024.
This story is part of a collaborative reporting project led by the Institute for Nonprofit News and including Borderless Magazine, Cicero Independiente and Inside Climate News. It was supported by the Field Foundation and INN.
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