唐人街居民应保护自己免受热浪袭击

Temperatures have been on the rise in Philadelphia since the 70s, but the past few years have seen marked jumps in average temperatures. 

In 2022 the average was 3 degrees higher than it had been the previous year, hovering around 78 degrees for the average highs in June and July. This year the average high has jumped to 86 degrees for the same two months, an 8 degree increase in temperature with nearly half of July at 90 degrees or above.

Added to this increase in temperature, the smoke and other air pollutants Philly has been faced with this year and our older and younger citizens are at risk of some serious health issues that must be addressed.

When you factor in the humidity the RealFeel temperature when it’s in the 90s gets into the triple digits.

This may not seem like a lot when compared to other parts of the country that are looking at temperatures averaging over 100 degrees and as high as 130 plus degrees in Death Valley but the impact of our high temperatures and poor air can have serious health impacts on the elderly and youth in Chinatown.

“It’s been well documented that Philadelphia has experienced one of, if not, its hot summer thus far,” said Kaizan Kollin, a Health Associate at Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. “This is on top of the wildfires and smoke from Canada that has put Air Quality Levels at dangerously high levels and continues to do so periodically, putting our elderly AAPI population and other vulnerable groups at risk.”

The heat poses the greatest risks for the elderly, infants, pregnant people, those with preexisting medical conditions, and anyone without access to cooling. The lack of tree canopy, overall green spaces, and prevalence of asphalt surfaces in Chinatown increase the likelihood of the most common heat-related illnesses: heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, sunburn and heat rash.

Residents should remain inside as much as they can and stay as cool as possible. Drink more water regardless of your level of activity, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid drinks with alcohol or lots of sugar, these drinks can cause you to lose more fluids.

The style of Philadelphia row homes plays a role in heat stress. Brick row homes with black rooftops absorb heat. The temperature inside a home with closed windows can equal the outside in something called a “convection oven” effect.

According to city officials, “if you don’t have an air conditioner you should open a window if you’re using a fan, otherwise it creates an oven effect, where the hot air is circulated. If your home is too hot, cooling centers are available as are senior centers.”

Limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours as much as possible but remember if the temperature has been over 90 degrees for a few days, even morning and evening hours can be overly hot and dangerous.

If you must be outside, wear lightweight and colored clothes that fit loosely, and drink more water. Avoid direct sun whenever possible, try to stick to the shady side of the street. If that isn’t an option, wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and put on sunscreen, even if you are wearing a mask.

Take the kids to a sprayground or the pool. The city has over 90 plus spraygrounds and water features available to keep residents cool. These are great ways for everyone to enjoy the water in the city safely.

Never leave kids or your pets in a car unattended under any circumstances. In warm or hot weather car interiors can reach lethal temperatures. It takes only two minutes for a car to reach unsafe temperatures.

If you see an unhoused person offer to call Homeless Outreach for them (215-232-1984). This weather is particularly dangerous for them, and The Office of Homeless Services will dispatch their homeless outreach team to any individual on the street who needs to be transported to a local shelter or who needs other homeless services. If they don’t want to go in, offer them some bottled water.

As if to put an exclamation mark on the rising temperatures, according to the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world's condition, global temperatures hit 63 degrees earlier this month and have stayed at that level. Unofficially they are the highest on record, about 2 degrees higher since 1980.

While this isn’t official yet, “this is an indication of where we are right now,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Sarah Kapnick.

“Records, like we’ve been seeing, is another strong piece of evidence for man-made global warming and that things are going to get hotter, especially as we move into an El Nino,” said Richard Betts, professor of climate impacts at the University of Exeter. “The risks are compounding all the time. It stands to reason that the sooner we can act, the quicker we can rein them in.”

“For many in our community the Air Quality Index (AQI) is a foreign concept to them, so we’ve been providing bilingual educational material put out on our social media channels including WeChat, monthly,” said Kollin. “Our health project team continues to monitor the fluctuating AQI and reposts any warnings from the Philadelphia Dept. of Public Health to our PCDC social media followers.”

According to research published last year, children will experience 35 times more life-threatening extreme heat events than kids born about 60 years ago.

Another factor that may be playing into the increased temperatures this year is the winter we didn’t have this past year. The almost complete lack of snow and warmer weather as compared to previous years may have made it more likely for us to have this scorcher of a summer.

We are also seeing an extreme rise in ocean temperatures all through the Atlantic Ocean but especially along the eastern seaboard as part of an El Nino pattern.  These high ocean temperatures could produce more frequent and stronger storms in the Philadelphia area that could cause flash flooding as well as increased tropical storms that have already started earlier than usual.

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