Officials with the D.C. Department of Energy and the Environment announced Friday the publication of Keep Cool DC, a strategy designed to address extreme heat in the city.
The Keep Cool DC strategy lays out steps that city agencies can take to adapt to hotter days by reducing the drivers of extreme heat and protecting residents from the dangers of high temperatures.
Agency officials said this year was a sign of summers becoming warmer, more humid and more prolonged than ever before, and summer temperatures are projected to increase by up to 10 degrees over the next 60 days. Plus, the number of heat emergency days each year is expected to more than triple by 2050.
Keep Cool DC not only explains the projections but includes a plan that the agency will use to guide the city government to help residents, businesses and visitors stay comfortable.
“The impacts of climate change are not distant threats,” said DOEE Director Tommy Wells. “Extreme heat is not just uncomfortable, it is dangerous. Heat can deteriorate infrastructure, spur power outages, and most critically, harm the health of District residents. By working with our sister agencies and District residents, we can address the impacts of climate change and extreme heat so that all Washingtonians can live healthier, safer, stronger, and more equitable and resilient lives.”
DOEE will hold a webinar about Keep Cool DC on Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
For more information, go to doee.dc.gov/climateready.