Boston's heat emergency is once again in effect on Friday, as high temperatures continue to blanket the region.
Communities across the Commonwealth have been opening up cooling centers and other accommodations to help locals to stay cool over this period of hot weather, which really kicked up on Thursday. The City of Boston has cooling centers at 15 Youth & Families community centers and also 64 splash pads.
NBC10 Boston has an ongoing compilation of places to cool down in communities all over the area.
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Doctors have been urging people over this hot stretch to listen to their bodies, looking out for signs of heat-related illness. They warn that symptoms such as dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea and muscle cramps are all signs to rehydrate and head indoors. Heat strokes, doctors warn, can be a real medical emergency.
Experts explained that there are different symptoms between heat strokes and heat exhaustion.
With heat strokes, the main signs to look for are a high body temperature, fast or strong pulse, dizziness, headache and passing out.
With heat exhaustion, people usually have heavy sweating, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness and a headache.
"The best way to stay safe over the next few days is that even if you’re not feeling bad yet, take breaks, hydrate, make your kids hydrate, even though they want to keep playing," Dr. Ali Raja said with the Massachusetts General Hospital "And that’s going to be the best way to stay out of the ER."
In Boston, it may be a little harder to stay cool, with the city confirming that 10 pools are staying closed this summer. Some of those closures are due to construction projects, and others are in need of repairs. The city said that it is in the process of renovating some pools.
At the Holland Community Center in Dorchester, there was not a timeline to reopen.
Some community activists want the city to fix it.
"It’s mostly black and brown neighborhoods that the pools are closed," community activist Domingos DaRosa said. Roxbury, South End, Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park. None of the pools are usable.”
Another concern with this type of high heat is the impact on the power grid.
"As temperatures get higher and more and more people are staying home, using electricity, that's when our concerns grow and that's why we suggest, again, use the large appliances during early morning and later in the evening hours," Energy Efficiency Spokesman for Eversource Massachusetts Bill Stack said.
Boston city resources to help with the heat can be found here.
