Pittsburgh opens cooling centers during heat wave

With temperatures expected to reach the 90s Wednesday around the area, Pittsburgh CitiParks is activating five Healthy Active Living Centers as cooling centers for those seeking refuge from the heat.

In addition, 10 CitiParks Recreation Centers are being kept open into the evening and seven Healthy Active Living Senior Centers are open during regular hours for people looking to cool off.

Sam Wasserman, communications manager for the mayor’s office, said the cooling centers are activated on weekdays when the predicted high temperature is expected to reach 90 or above.

“We want to make sure we have different locations around the city for our residents to go and cool off, in case they don’t have anything,” Wasserman said. He acknowledged that more people in the city than many may realize have nowhere to go and cool off when the weather gets extremely hot.

“This is really something from an equity perspective, making sure that there’s a public service by opening these cooling centers,” he said. “When the temperatures reach 90, people are at greater risk for dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. We just want to make sure that there is this open, accessible location.”

Wasserman said the city has made sure that the five Healthy Active Living Centers activated as cooling centers are strategically spread throughout the city.

They include Healthy Active Living Community Centers for Brighton Heights, Greenfield, Homewood, Sheraden and the South Side. Addresses can be found here.

Wasserman said the city is watching the weather closely to determine whether to keep the cooling centers open on other days later this week.