Baltimore braces for a September heat wave
BALTIMORE -- The heat has the Charm City doing what it can to keep its residents cool.
Some of those resources include cooling centers where people can enjoy some air conditioning and get water for free. City leaders really want people to take advantage of these centers, saying this brutal heat opens the door to some serious health risks.
Raymond Kucharcgyk probably would have been at Hatton Senior Center already because he loves bingo. But he got there faster than normal on Tuesday because of the heat and because it's one of the city's cooling centers.
"It's nice and cool inside," he said. "It beats going out there in the heat and everything. The heat is very awful with the humidity."
Hatton is one of nine cooling centers Baltimore opened under its Code Red Extreme Heat Alert. All of the Enoch Pratt Free Library branches are opening their doors to help people cool off, too.
The concern with this stretch of heat in particular is the lack of breaks, with even overnight temperatures not getting too low.
So, the Baltimore City Health Department worries heat illnesses will be affecting more people in the coming days—especially those who work outdoors.
"When we don't have that break...the effects build up on the body and it just becomes much more heightened," Kim Eshleman, director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at BCHD, said. "[We are] much more at risk."
Signs of heat illness include confusion, nausea, lightheadedness, high body temperature with clammy skin, and irregular heartbeat.
Anyone who goes outside should be sure to have a lot of water.
Benjamin Crawford couldn't resist playing some tennis with a friend at Patterson Park on Tuesday. But both of them kept an eye on one another—making sure neither overdid it in the heat.
When it's this hot, Crawford said he "takes a lot of breaks, drinks a lot of water, and stay under the shade [when he can]."
However, he admits when it gets as hot as it has that "maybe staying inside wouldn't be a bad idea."
WJZ has a complete list of Baltimore's cooling centers. They'll be operating through Thursday.