Las Vegas has hidden defenses against deadly heat. Most people miss them

Cooling stations dot nearly every neighborhood in Clark County, but many of those inside trying to avoid the deadly heat don’t even know they’re using one. It’s more than just a branding problem, one researcher has found.

That’s according to the findings of a newly released study from the Desert Research Institute’s Nevada Heat Lab, a team of academics that evaluate the best ways for the Silver State to respond to the threat of extreme heat.

“We’re talking about free, publicly available spaces that are already operational,” said David Almanza, a postdoctoral researcher and the report’s author. “Whether or not we call them cooling stations, they are providing those services anyway.”

In Southern Nevada, these air-conditioned buildings are largely community centers and libraries that are a critical part of people’s daily or weekly routines rather than an emergency service, according to the report.

Through Thursday, they may be more important than ever; a high-pressure system will keep pushing daily highs into the 110s and beyond, with “little-to-no overnight relief” as low temperatures remain in the high 90s or above 100, according to the National Weather Service’s Friday forecast discussion.

Between 2024 and 2025, the Clark County coroner’s office logged at least 800 heat-related deaths, and cooling stations continue to be local officials’ main response beyond planting trees in places with sparse canopy.

The Nevada Heat Lab’s report, based on 489 survey responses collected at 37 stations last summer, provides strategic recommendations for Clark County leaders as they work on eliminating the barriers people experience to accessing them.

Rather than using the weather service’s extreme heat warnings as a trigger to open cooling centers throughout the county, spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper said in a statement that staff now considers “local temperature thresholds and heat risks,” which is a policy that has increased the number of days they are operational.

Cooper did not elaborate when asked for specifics, nor did she make anyone from Clark County Social Services available for an interview regarding the program or recommended improvements in Almanza’s report.

“The County remains committed to ensuring residents have safe places to seek heat relief during periods of extreme heat and is positioned to continue to respond to the needs of the community as health response efforts evolve,” Cooper said.

As a part of its compliance with Assembly Bill 96 that required extreme heat-focused updates to big cities’ and counties’ master plans, Clark County formalized its commitment to sustaining its cooling station network.

Related barriers, limited solutions

Of the half of survey respondents who intentionally were using a cooling station, about 34 percent use them four times a week or more. One person remarked that they keep their air-conditioning at a higher temperature when they opt for a community cooling station instead.

The top two reasons identified for why they don’t tend to use cooling stations as often include not knowing where they are and a lack of reliable transportation.

Cooper said in her statement that in addition to identifying more cooling stations and increasing the days they are accessible over the last two years, the main way officials have tried to fix transportation barriers is through free bus passes.

Those 24-hour bus passes are available at certain public libraries — the locations of which residents can find at the county’s interactive map on its website. But even that initiative may not be landing as intended.

The Nevada Heat Lab’s report found that only 27 percent of respondents who knew they were in a cooling station had used a free bus pass, with 51 percent who were not aware of the program or they had never used one.

It’s proof that barriers are linked, and solving one issue won’t solve another, Almanza said.

“Addressing any single barrier in isolation will have limited impact,” the report states. “Expanding hours doesn’t help if people can’t get there. Improving transportation doesn’t help if stations are hard to find or feel unsafe … The evidence points clearly toward multi-pronged strategies that address access, capacity, and communication together.”

Finding Nevada’s extreme heat emergency manager

For years now, Southern Nevada leaders have tried to address extreme heat through a patchwork of local jurisdictions. The single-most limiting factor toward extreme heat response is still a lack of funding.

At an extreme heat roundtable discussion in May, Clark County Social Services employee Giselle Gomez said it is an obstacle toward recruiting new partners to formalize more cooling stations.

“All I can say is, ‘We’ll give you water,’” Gomez said. “But I can’t say we’re going to offer any kind of funding, so I don’t think that that really helps the situation.”

Unlike Los Angeles, Miami or Phoenix, Las Vegas doesn’t have a centralized heat office or full-time, permanent staff who are solely dedicated to working on the issue year-round. According to the report, “the absence of a centralized authority for heat adaptation” is part of the problem.

“Without clearer governance structures and dedicated funding, these stations are likely to remain dependent on ad hoc arrangements,” the report states. “The evidence in this report supports the case for formalized planning, ongoing evaluation, and investment commensurate with the role cooling stations already play.”

Assemblymember Cinthia Moore, D-North Las Vegas, has said in past interviews that she intends to introduce a bill to create a statewide heat office in the 2027 Nevada Legislature. Until then, Almanza said he hopes the report can reach local leaders as they work to improve outcomes.

Almanza said he has already briefed members of the Legislature’s Interim Committee on Public Health and has discussed the findings with Assemblymember Venicia Considine, a Las Vegas Democrat who chairs the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs.

“It would be a little bit of a misnomer if we think the temperature itself is the issue,” Almanza said. “So, what is the issue? How do we identify it? As researchers, our goal is to develop the best science to help all of our partners — media, county, regional, at all levels — make well-informed choices.”

To find an interactive map of Clark County’s cooling stations, residents should visit allin.clarkcountynv.gov/Initiative/StayCool.