"Further data indicates about 50% of heat-related illnesses are happening within walking distance of a cooling center".
"RICHMOND – Michael, a resident of Richmond’s Southside who declined to share his last name, sat on Forest Hill Avenue waiting for a bus Tuesday just before 2 p.m., when a car thermometer recorded the temperature at 94 degrees.
Michael wasn’t waiting under a bus shelter as he headed home from a doctor’s appointment. Rather, he was sitting underneath a narrow sign that provided a sliver of shade as the sun beamed down.
“There’s very little shade right here,” said Michael, who added additional cooling centers would help alleviate heat stress in the city. “They don’t have cooling stations everywhere…it’s hot everywhere.”
Scientific journal GeoHealth recently published a report detailing the number of heat-related health emergencies and the inequitable effects of urban heat exposure in Virginia’s capital city."
Charlie Paullin reports for the Virginia Mercury July 10, 2024.
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