LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – After last year’s record-breaking summer heat and more than 500 deaths, researchers are looking into what more can be done to protect Las Vegas residents from extreme temperatures.
Nevada Heat Lab Researcher David Almanza says right now, cooling centers are Nevada’s only official response to extreme heat. That’s why, for summer 2025, researchers are focusing their efforts on better understanding the resource.
“We’re starting off with cooling centers as the only official response to find out what is working and what is not working,” Almanza says.
The Nevada Heat Lab consists of three people and is housed at the Desert Research Institute. Nevada Heat Lab’s lead, Ariel Choinard, says the lab exists to address gaps in Nevada’s extreme heat response.
Choinard said, “We had a lot of local governments, institutions. organizations, all sorts of folks who worked on heat in one way or the other, but they all did so in kind of a siloed fashion.”
Almanza says for the upcoming summer, their goal is to visit all 42 cooling centers across Southern Nevada with paper surveys. He says they’ll be asking people using the centers how the resource is working for them.
“Did you have any challenges getting here? Were you able to locate a facility near where you live or your work?” Almanza says. “Are these operational during the time that you need them?”
He says then they’ll share this data with community stakeholders.
“This research doesn’t just sit there. It is used to inform decision makers who are making these critical decisions about how we can help Nevadans navigate the extreme temperatures,” Almanza says.
Clark County Social Services works with community partners to activate cooling centers when an Extreme Heat Warning is issued by the National Weather Service.
Social Services Director Jamie Sorenson says cooling centers in the Valley are currently open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., but this summer they’re hoping to expand those hours later into the evening and the weekend.
“There are times when it is 100 degrees in the middle of the night,” Sorenson says. “To have resources for people beyond just the peak hours in this climate is really important.”
They are also adding signage at cooling centers before and during activation to make the resource easier to find.
County officials say they’re looking for churches and community organizations interested in serving as cooling centers that can stay open later in the evening and on the weekends.
Anyone interested can email [email protected].
“Providers are asked to be willing to open their doors to provide an air-conditioned area for those in need of respite at least six times a year, provide fresh drinking water, and be open generally from the hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is a particular need for cooling stations on holidays and weekends when public facilities may be closed,” County officials said in a statement.
To find a cooling center near you, call 211 or click here.
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