KYW Newsradio Team Coverage
With temperates hitting the mid-90s on Friday and Saturday, weather forecasters have issued an excessive heat warning for the Delaware Valley until Saturday evening.
An excessive heat "watch" was also being put into effect from Saturday night until Sunday night.
Check the KYW AccuWeather forecast
The Philadelphia Corporation for Aging was operating its "heatline" on Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th, from 8:30am to 12 midnight both days. The phone number is 215-765-9040.
At the heatline's call center, a team of trained staff were prepared to counsel callers of all ages about precautions to take against the heat and how to detect signs of heat stress.
City health department nurses were also available to speak with callers about medical problems related to the heat. Mobile relief teams from the Health Department were ready to respond to situations requiring intervention, with 911 being called for emergencies.
Officials are also urging neighbors, friends, and relatives to look in on elderly persons, as they may be especially vulnerable to the heat.
KYW's Lynne Adkins reports because that of the poor air quality due to the heat, GVF Transportation, which provides shuttle buses in Montgomery County, Pa., is offering free rides to encourage people to reduce pollution by leaving their cars at home.
And if you're at home without air conditioning, there are ways to keep it cool. Dr. Steven Ridenour (right), a Temple University professor of mechanical engineering, says that because heat rises, you can use fans to remove the hot, stale air:
"If you've got a substantial fan or maybe more than one and each blowing out, then they can pull air from that cool spot in the lower floor and blow it out in the upper floors."
Also, he advises, keep your shades down to block the sunlight, and don't add to the heat by cooking indoors or running the clothes dryer during the hottest part of the day.
Health officials say that if you must be outside, drink plenty of fluids. Water is best, according to Dr. Mary Hofmann, chief of geriatric medicine at Abington Memorial Hospital. She says in the heat it's best to skip the morning coffee or tea fix:
"Coffee's actually a diuretic, and that's probably the exact wrong thing to do. And we should encourage our elderly friends and relatives to take water in the morning and take coffee later. But the coffee makes it worse."
She says diuretics can cause frequent urination, which can be dehydrating.
KYW's John McDevitt reports that those who have to work outdoors were doing their best to take their minds off the heat.
One of those groups is the colonial "interpreters." They interact in character with visitors to Philadelphia's historic area.
Many of their costumes are made of cotton and even light wool. Twenty-first century couple Jan and John Haigis (right), of Darby, Pa., portray colonial musicians.
(Jan:) "Singing is something that takes your mind off the heat also. And it's something that brings people together. And that's one of the reasons why we are happy to be here in Philadelphia whether it's warm or cool."
(John:) "We like finding patches of shade. And cooling breezes help. And also in your century you have something you call air conditioning, which we heartily approve of."
But it's still hot out, no matter what century you're in.
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