Anne Arundel County navigates excessive heat warning with cooling stations
BALTIMORE -- Temperatures rose to a dangerous level across Maryland on Saturday.
Anne Arundel County was even under an excessive heat warning until 8 p.m. That's because the heat index values were projected to reach 110 degrees in the county.
Temperatures that high can cause heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, according to Mark Goldstein, the medical director of Sinai Hospital's emergency department, said.
So, county officials made available to county residents spaces where they could stop to cool off.
"Humans are not meant to function in heat that's much more than 95 degrees," Goldstein said.
The county's Office of Emergency Management issued the warning about excessive heat in advance, giving people time to create a plan of action.
"It's best to avoid prolonged exposure to heat during the peak daytime hours if there's a place to get inside where there's air conditioning, climate-controlled," Goldstein said. "That's really critical during these heat waves."
County officials directed residents to the lobbies of its police stations and library facilities, such as the Michael. E Busch Annapolis Library.
"I thought well I can kill two birds with one stone—pick up my books, sit down and chill, relax, cool off, drink some cold water," Annapolis resident Muhammad Okedeyi said of the library option.
Okedeyi said that cooling off at the library meant that he didn't have to worry about overpowering his own air conditioning unit by blasting it all day.
The library provided shelter and also had cases of water bottles for anyone who decided to drop by and cool off.
"Our health is really important and it's important that we all look out for each other, and I appreciate Anne Arundel County for looking out for those who may be in circumstances where they aren't able to look out for themselves," Okedeyi said.