San Diego County, California: County Makes Its Cool Zone Heat Refuges Year-Round as Heat Risk Extends Beyond Summer
San Diego County, California, announced on October 29 that its long-running Cool Zone program will operate year-round instead of seasonally, so residents can use a nearby Cool Zone site on any hot day of the year.
Cool Zones are air-conditioned public refuges — at libraries, community centers and other public facilities — for residents without air conditioning at home, especially older adults and people with chronic health conditions. The program previously ran only during the summer heat season and shut down in the fall.
County officials said hot days in Southern California increasingly fall outside the traditional summer, and autumn heat waves pose the same risks of heat stroke and heat exhaustion to older adults living alone and to outdoor workers. Year-round operation removes the protection gap at the change of seasons.
The county reminds residents to stay hydrated on hot days, avoid strenuous midday outdoor activity, and check on elderly neighbors living alone, and to seek help immediately for symptoms of heat illness such as dizziness, nausea or confusion.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 圣迭戈县行政中心（资料图）。Adbar 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0。 / San Diego County Administration Center (file photo). Photo by Adbar, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
