Talk about a purple haze.
Metro Atlanta's air quality was so bad Friday that the area shot past a Code Red to a Code Purple, and Saturday already looks like it will be just as bad as thermometers across the region race into triple-digits again.
To help vulnerable metro Atlantans escape the high temps, more cooling stations are opening, and the city of Atlanta announced at noon that seven of its public swimming pools will offer free admission today.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said his forecast calls for Atlanta to reach 105 Saturday, which would tie an all-time record last seen in July 1980. The standing record is 98 and "we'll smash that for sure," Chandley said.
Friday's high temperature reached 104, besting the previous record of 101 set in 1936.
Meanwhile, Fulton County spokeswoman Ericka Davis said at least one heat-related emergency has been reported through the county's Office of Aging. Paramedics were called to assist a resident whose landlord had not had an air conditioner repaired. But there have thus far not been reports of increased emergency calls due to the heat.
Piedmont Hospital medical director Dr. Jeffrey Oyler said there have been a number of cases of dehydration but not an unusual amount.
"I think it's a good sign," Oyler said. "Now that the real heat is kicking in, it's so oppresively hot a lot of people are staying in, which is good."
By early afternoon, Atlanta Medical Center reported just two cases of patients with symptoms of heat exhaustion, although neither case was considered life threatening.
In Decatur, the Salvation Army had more than 30 people lined up at 10 a.m. Saturday to enter its Peachcrest Corps cooling station on Sherrydale Lane. Spokeswoman Lillian Harding said they are quickly running out of donated fans. A donor in May gave the Salvation Army 1,500 fans to give away and an additional 500 this week.
"That's a drop in the bucket," Harding said. "Five hundred fans compared to the needs."
The Clean Air Campaign reported Saurday that Friday's air quality reached "very unhealthy" levels — bad enough to rate a Code Purple. The last time air quality was this poor was Aug. 15, 2007. An advisory has already been released for Saturday that the region will exceed Code Red, but it will be Sunday morning before it's known if we reached purple.
The organization bases its alerts on data from the Environmental Protection Agency. On Thursday, metro Atlanta experienced its first Code Red smog alert since July 7, 2010.
"As long as the weather continues to stay hot, there is potential that we could experience more unhealthy air quality days," Clean Air Campaign spokesman Brian Carr said. Ground-level ozone during warmer months presents the biggest challenge for Georgians when it comes to air quality. The highest concentration of ozone is between 2 and 7 p.m.
Half of all smog-forming emissions come from vehicles, and with gas prices falling, more vehicles are expected to be on the road, especially with summer vacations in full swing.
"We ask people to look at alternatives to driving alone as an immediate way to reduce air pollution," Carr said.
With 100-degree temperatures, health officials and the National Weather Service advise north Georgians to take precautions, which include drinking plenty of water, wearing light clothing, limiting outdoor activities and strenuous work, and not leaving children or pets in closed vehicles, where temperatures can skyrocket within a short period.
More cooling stations opening and free swimming
The city of Atlanta will not charge admission fees at seven pools today: Adams, 1581 Lagoon Lane SW; Anderson, 100 Anderson Ave.; Dunbar (Rosa Burney Park), 477 Windsor St.; Grant Park, 625 Park Ave.; Pittman, 950 Garibaldi St.; Powell (Mosely Park), 1690 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., and Thomasville, 1750 Thomasville Dr.
The city also has five cooling stations that will be open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They are located at 3201 Martin Luther King Drive SW in Adamsville, 215 Lakewood Way SE in the J.C. Burdine area, 477 Windsor St. SW in Dunbar, the Georgia Hill Neighborhood Center at 250 Georgia Ave. SE, and 365 Cleveland Ave. SE.
Fulton County's Office of Aging is opening cooling centers for a second day Saturday for seniors who need a break from the heat. The centers will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., and are available to residents who do not have air conditioning.
The centers include the Dorothy C. Benson Senior Multipurpose Center, 6500 Vernon Woods Drive in Sandy Springs; the H.J.C. Bowden Senior Multipurpose Center, 2885 Church Street in East Point; the Harriett G. Darnell Senior Multipurpose Center, 677 Fairburn Road NW; and the Helene S. Mills Senior Multipurpose Center, 515 John Wesley Dobbs Ave., SE.
The Salvation Army will have two cooling centers open Saturday. The centers are located at 3500 Sherrydale Lane in Decatur and 3455 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville. The organization will be distributing free electric fans at those locations — while supplies last — as well as at the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center at 967 Dewey St. SW in Atlanta.
Staff writer Christopher Seward contributed
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