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Tag: Cooling

  • Philadelphia Declares a Heat Health Emergency — Cooling Centers Open, Field Teams Dispatched, Heatline Active

    Philadelphia Declares a Heat Health Emergency — Cooling Centers Open, Field Teams Dispatched, Heatline Active

    Philadelphia declared a Heat Health Emergency on June 19, 2026, as the Juneteenth heat wave — which has placed approximately 80 million Americans under some form of heat advisory — brought heat index values forecast to reach 103°F and potentially exceed 100°F in the city.

    The declaration — issued by Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson — activates a comprehensive set of city services designed specifically to reach those most at risk from heat illness and death: elderly residents living alone without air conditioning, people experiencing homelessness, outdoor workers, and residents with medical conditions that impair heat tolerance. “The Health Department declares a Heat Health Emergency when the temperature gets high enough that vulnerable people — especially our elderly neighbors and family members — are at an increased risk of getting sick or dying from the heat,” Commissioner Raval-Nelson said.

    This is not Philadelphia’s first heat health emergency of the summer. The Keystone Newsroom’s June 2026 coverage documented that Philadelphia had already come through two prior heat events in early June — the city’s first and second heat waves of 2026 — with temperatures reaching 97–98°F on consecutive days. The June 19 Juneteenth declaration represents the third heat emergency activation of the season.

    What a Philadelphia Heat Health Emergency Actually Activates

    According to the City of Philadelphia’s official Heat Health Emergency services page, a declaration triggers a coordinated set of emergency programs that go significantly beyond issuing a public advisory. The full activation includes:

    The Heatline — 215-765-9040. The Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s (PCA) Heatline opens for calls during extended hours (8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. during the emergency). City Health Department nurses answer calls directly, available to discuss medical concerns related to the heat, identify whether callers are in danger, and help connect residents with appropriate services. This is not a call center with scripted responses — it is a nurse-staffed clinical support line.

    Cooling centers with extended hours. As confirmed by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s coverage of the June 11 emergency and CBS Philadelphia, dozens of cooling centers open at community centers, libraries, religious centers, and parks across the city — with extended hours specifically during Heat Health Emergencies. Residents can find cooling center locations and hours at phila.gov or by calling 311. Parks and Recreation Older Adult Centers are open specifically for elderly residents.

    Home visits by special field teams. This is perhaps the most operationally significant activation in the declaration. As the City of Philadelphia’s public health documentation confirms, home visits by specialized field teams go to elderly residents and others identified in city health databases as being at elevated risk — people who may not access general public advisories, who may not know to call the Heatline, and who may be in danger before their distress is visible to neighbors or family. This proactive outreach distinguishes Philadelphia’s response from systems that rely entirely on self-reporting.

    Homeless outreach mobilization. The city mobilizes Homeless Services personnel and street outreach teams to offer shelter and services to people sleeping outside. As documented by both Philadelphia Patch and the Philadelphia Inquirer, street teams patrol the city offering shelter and services to anyone found outside in dangerous conditions. A 24/7 outreach hotline is available at 215-232-1984 for anyone who spots a person outside in need of help.

    Utility shutoff suspension. Residential utility shutoffs for nonpayment are suspended during Heat Health Emergencies, ensuring that residents who are behind on bills are not left without power for air conditioning during the most dangerous heat period.

    Pool access expansion. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation opens more than 60 outdoor pools on a rolling basis during Heat Health Emergencies, with free swim during open hours.

    Philadelphia Heat Health Emergency — Activated Services Detail
    Declaration authority Health Commissioner Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson
    Heatline 215-765-9040 (8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. during emergency)
    Cooling centers Dozens of locations; community centers, libraries, religious centers, parks; call 311
    Home visit teams Special field teams dispatched to high-risk elderly and other identified residents
    Homeless outreach Mobilized Homeless Services personnel and street outreach teams
    24/7 homeless/outreach hotline 215-232-1984
    Outdoor pools 60+ opened on rolling basis; free swim during emergency
    Utility shutoffs Suspended during emergency (no shutoffs for nonpayment)
    Older Adult Centers Open with AC during emergency hours
    Heat index forecast 103°F + possible triple digits
    2026 context Third heat wave for Philadelphia; June 11–12 and prior June events also declared emergencies

    Philadelphia’s Specific Heat Vulnerabilities

    Philadelphia is one of the most heat-vulnerable large cities on the U.S. East Coast for reasons that go beyond temperature — they are structural.

    The urban heat island effect is severe. Philadelphia’s dense urban fabric — asphalt, concrete, limited tree canopy in many low-income neighborhoods — means that the city retains significantly more heat than surrounding suburban and rural areas. During a heat wave, urban core temperatures regularly exceed surrounding area temperatures by 5–10°F. Low-income and predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods consistently show less tree coverage and higher surface temperatures than wealthier neighborhoods — a documented environmental justice disparity that concentrates the health burden of heat on the populations least resourced to address it.

    Air conditioning access gaps remain. While the majority of Philadelphia households have air conditioning, significant gaps remain among elderly residents on fixed incomes who avoid running AC to limit electricity bills, low-income renters whose landlords are not required to provide adequate AC, and residents in older housing stock where window units are not feasible.

    Older adults living alone. Philadelphia has a substantial elderly population, and a significant proportion of seniors live alone. During the 1995 Chicago heat wave — which killed 739 people in six days and remains the defining case study for heat mortality in a major U.S. city — living alone was one of the single strongest predictors of death, particularly when combined with no air conditioning and social isolation. Philadelphia’s home visit program exists precisely to address this known risk pattern.

    Anyone in Philadelphia who is concerned about themselves or a family member during the heat emergency should call 311 to find the nearest cooling center, call the PCA Heatline at 215-765-9040 to speak with a nurse, or call the 24/7 outreach line at 215-232-1984 for immediate street outreach assistance.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What does Philadelphia’s Heat Health Emergency declaration activate?

    The declaration activates: the PCA Heatline at 215-765-9040 (nurse-staffed); cooling centers with extended hours at dozens of locations; home visits by specialized field teams to high-risk residents; mobilization of Homeless Services personnel and street outreach teams; free pool access; and suspension of residential utility shutoffs for nonpayment.

    Where can I find a cooling center in Philadelphia?

    Call 311 or visit phila.gov to find the nearest cooling center. During the Heat Health Emergency, dozens of locations are open with extended hours, including community centers, libraries, religious centers, parks, and Older Adult Centers.

    How do I get help for someone who appears to be in heat distress outdoors in Philadelphia?

    Call the 24/7 outreach line at 215-232-1984 to request immediate assistance for anyone you find outside who may be in heat distress. For a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

    What is the Heatline, and when is it available?

    The Philadelphia Corporation for Aging’s Heatline (215-765-9040) is staffed by City Health Department nurses during Heat Health Emergencies. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Nurses can answer medical questions about heat-related health concerns and help connect callers with services.

    Is there free swimming available during the emergency? Yes. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation opens its 60+ outdoor pools on a rolling basis during Heat Health Emergencies, with free swim during open hours. Check phila.gov for current open pool locations.

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  • Why Cooling Potatoes Lowers Their Glycemic Load

    Why Cooling Potatoes Lowers Their Glycemic Load

    If you eat potatoes when they’re cold, as in potato salad, or chilled and reheated, you can get a nearly 40% lower glycemic impact.

    If you systematically pull together all the best studies on potato consumption and chronic disease risk, an association is found for the risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension—but that’s for French fries. Consumption of boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes was not associated with the risk of high blood pressure, but there was still a pesky link with diabetes. Overall, eating potatoes is not related to risk for many chronic diseases, but boiled potatoes could potentially pose a small increase in risk for diabetes. That’s one of the reasons some question whether they should be counted as vegetables when you’re trying to reach your recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables.

    If you look at other whole plant foods—nuts, vegetables, fruits, and legumes (which are beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils)—they’re associated with living a longer life. Significantly less risk of dying from cancer, dying from cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks, and 25% less chance of dying prematurely from all causes put together. But no such protection is gained from potatoes for cancer, heart disease, or overall mortality. So, the fact that potatoes don’t seem to affect mortality can be seen as a downside. Now, it’s not like meat, which may actually actively shorten your life, as you can see below and at 1:28 in my video Glycemic Index of Potatoes: Why You Should Chill and Reheat Them.

    But there may be an opportunity cost to eating white potatoes, since every bite of a potato is a lost opportunity to put something even healthier in your mouth—something that may actively make you live longer.

    So, potatoes are kind of “a double-edged sword.” The reason that potato consumption may have just a neutral impact on mortality risk is that all the fiber, vitamin C, and potassium in white potatoes might be counterbalanced by the adverse effects of their high glycemic index. Not only are high glycemic impact diets “robustly associated” with developing type 2 diabetes, but current evidence suggests that this relationship is cause and effect.

    A front group for the potato industry called the Alliance for Potato Research and Education funded a study that found that intake of non-fried potatoes does not affect blood sugar markers, when compared with the likes of Wonder Bread, that is, so that isn’t really saying very much. Foods with a glycemic index (GI) higher than 70 are classified as high-GI foods (high glycemic index foods), and those lower than 55 are low-GI foods. Pure sugar water, for example, is often standardized at 100, and white bread and white potatoes are also way up there as high glycemic index foods. But when you compare them to an intact grain, like barley groats (also known as pot barley), which is a super-low GI food, you can see how refined grains and potatoes are simply no match. Check out the numbers below or at 2:47 in my video.

    Is there any way we can have our potatoes and eat them too, by somehow lowering their glycemic index? Well, if you boil potatoes and then put them in the fridge to cool, some of the starch crystallizes into a form that can no longer be broken down by the starch-munching enzymes in your gut, as you can see below and at 3:06 in my video.

    However, the amounts of this so-called resistant starch that are formed are relatively small, making it hard to recommend cold potatoes as a solution. But when put to the test, you actually see a dramatic drop in glycemic index in cold versus hot potatoes, shown below and at 3:23 in my video.

    So, by consuming potatoes as potato salad, for instance, you can get nearly a 40% lower glycemic impact. The chilling effect might, therefore, also slow the rate at which the starch is broken down and absorbed. So, people who want to minimize dietary glycemic index may consider precooking potatoes and having them chilled or reheated. The downside of eating potatoes cold is that they might not be as satiating as eating hot potatoes. But you may get the best of both worlds by first cooling them and then reheating them, which is exactly what was done in that famous study I profiled in my book How Not to Diet. The single most satiating food out of the dozens tested was boiled-then-cooled-then-reheated potatoes, as you can see below and at 4:09 in my video.

    There is actually an appetite-suppressing protein in potatoes called potato protease inhibitor II, but the way you prepare your potatoes makes a difference. Both boiled and mashed potatoes are significantly more satiating than French fries, as shown below and at 4:26 in my video.

    That was for fried French fries, though. What about baked French fries? Folks had a big drop in appetite after eating boiled mashed potatoes, compared to white rice or white pasta, which is right where fried French fries were stuck, as well as baked French fries. So, though baked fries may be your BFF, they’re not very satiating.

    Doctor’s Note

    Just to be clear, you don’t have to reheat. Chilling is the crucial step to dramatically lower the glycemic index, so you can certainly enjoy a cold potato salad. If you’re trying to control your weight, though, you may want to avoid even baked fries.

    This is the third in a five-video series on potatoes. If you missed the first two, see Do Potatoes Increase the Risk of Diabetes? and Do Potatoes Increase the Risk of High Blood Pressure and Death?.

    Chilling isn’t the only trick to blunt the glycemic impact. You can also add vinegar, lemon, or broccoli.

    Stay tuned for the final two videos in this series: How to Reduce the Glycemic Impact of Potatoes and The Healthiest Type of Potato.

    Join the resistance! Check out related posts below.



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