Lancaster County’s Office of Aging is advising local seniors to take advantage of its air-conditioned Senior Centers to beat this week’s extreme heat.
“Spending at least a few hours in air conditioning, especially for individuals 65 and over, can help to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses,” the office said in a statement.
The following Cooling Center locations will be open this week (daily from Tuesday through Friday unless otherwise specified):
Lancaster city
- SACA Senior Center, 545 Pershing Ave., 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Phone: (717) 295-7989
- Lancaster Rec Senior Center, 525 Fairview Ave., 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Phone: (717) 399-7671
Other county locations
- Columbia Senior Center, Columbia United Methodist Church, 510 Walnut Street, Columbia, 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Phone: (717) 684-4850
- Elizabethtown Area Senior Center, 70 South Poplar St., Elizabethtown, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Phone: (717) 367-7984
- Lititz Senior Center, Lititz United Methodist Church, 201 E. Market St., Lititz, (Wednesday and Thursday only) 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Phone: (717) 626-2800
- Millersville Senior Center, St. Paul Lutheran Church, 222 N. George St., Millersville, (Tuesday and Wednesday only) 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Phone: (717) 871-9600
- Next Gen Senior Center, 184 S. Lime St., Quarryville, 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m., Phone: (717) 786-4770
The Office of Aging can help with arranging transportation to cooling centers for individuals unable to get there on their own. Meanwhile, the office is seeking volunteers to assist cooling center staff in welcoming seniors; to learn more or to apply, click here.
A heat wave is expected to keep daily highs in Lancaster County above 90 degrees through the rest of the week and possibly into next week as well.
“All locations in the Interstate 95 corridor from Virginia to Massachusetts will significantly add to their number of 90-degree days,” reports Accuweather.
Europe is seeing even hotter temperatures, with Britain poised to notch what could be its hottest day since recordkeeping began and France broiling under maximums of 104 degrees or more.
Hotter, more frequent heat waves are a direct consequence of global warming and are expected to become steadily more severe in the years and decades ahead.
