However, it did seem in a way fitting on that on the first full day after the solstice, the start of astronomical summer, the nation’s capital should welcome the year’s hottest day.

Scholars of weather and everyday residents of Washington might wish to parse the finer points of Friday’s conditions. But the day, and the blaze of its June sunshine, seemed unarguably appropriate to summer.

It could have been considered a kind of atmospheric calling card, a sign that nature had not forgotten us through the weeks of idyllic spring. Friday, with its 95, indicated that nature remained in the summertime heat business, and had not closed up shop.

But efforts to find some summer comfort amid the simmer were rewarded by relatively small victories. In Washington, the air stirred often, offering enough natural ventilation to carry off some of the perspiration produced by the heat.

The heat index climbed well above the temperature, meaning that humidity caused Friday to feel even warmer than it was. But in its hourly reports of conditions in Washington, the National Weather Services never recorded a heat index as high as 100.

Just before 4 p.m., with the official temperature at the day’s high of 95, the heat index was even higher, to be sure. But it stopped short of triple digits, topping out at 99.

And at that time, as at other hours in the afternoon, a ripple of breeze passed over the landscape, offering a bit of relief.

Perhaps the 15 mph breeze, reported simultaneously with the city’s highest temperature, offered a reminder that even 95 degree days are not beyond the power of natural mitigation.

In the catalogue of unpleasant characteristics of the District’s summertime, the “H’s” occupy a prominent section. Under “H” can be found haze, heat and humidity.

Friday, the year’s hottest day, was certainly warm enough to meet the hot requirement.

But humidity seemed at least near the bounds of tolerability.

And the sky often seemed piercing in the clarity of its blue. So water-vapory haze seemed frequently absent.

Nonetheless, with Friday, Washington’s string of 90-degree days reached five. The city has clearly fallen into the clutches of a heat wave.

It began before the solstice and continued afterward. And Friday, its latest member, edged out Tuesday’s 94, and reigned, at least for a day, as the D.C. heat champion of 2024.

Thankfully, the city’s most recent budget allocates $463 million to upgrade the D.C. jail. Even so, that doesn’t mean some of the worst conditions will be fixed soon. In fact, the current plan puts the needs of only a small portion of those held at D.C. jail ahead of the rest.

Local officials agree on replacing the current facility. The main building, which opened in 1976, has experienced 10 deaths in the last 17 months. Five of these deaths occurred this year. The jail’s rigorous covid-19 policy confined detainees to their cells for 23 hours a day during the pandemic. A surprise inspection by the U.S. Marshals Service in 2021 further fueled outrage, finding instances of food withholding and a strong smell of backed-up sewage.

But agreement in principle has not yet led to shovels in the ground. Official discussions for a new jail in D.C. began 14 years ago, when the Department of Corrections requested $420 million in funding for a new facility. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and corrections officials have consistently argued that the new jail and renovated treatment facility are urgent needs. But, thanks to concerns over a clear execution strategy, any time money for the jail was included in the budget, it was promptly pushed out again. Until this latest round.

Money in hand, now, city officials have to figure out how to spend it to do the most good for the most detainees. Disagreements persist on how to do that — and the city’s current plan has it wrong. The D.C. Department of Corrections released a new timeline this month for the facility’s transformation. Under the plan, renovating the deficient primary holding space would not be complete until 2034 at best. The plan splits up the construction project with into two phases. The city would start by constructing a small administrative and behavioral health facility, then move to upgrading the existing housing for the general population.

The idea is that the current jail has bigger problems than the deterioration of the facility’s physical structure. Broader investment in the DOC, along with enhanced programming, educational opportunities and treatment for detainees’ physical and mental ailments, is necessary to change the current culture of D.C. jail so that its inhabitants can more easily reintegrate into society. And that requires building the behavioral health facility.

But, while accommodating special needs and services is undoubtedly important, D.C. officials should focus on general housing first. Of course, rehabilitation is important for transitioning back to life after detention. But the main facility’s current dilapidated state is not a safe and rehabilitative environment for any of the over 1,300 people locked up. By swapping the two phases and putting general housing ahead of specialized services, officials could provide these people with better living conditions and programming opportunities sooner, rather than leaving them to languish for another decade after so many years of neglect.

That doesn’t mean D.C. should set aside its plans for the behavioral health facility — quite the contrary. The city has an opportunity to join others in the nation committing themselves to comprehensive services for those behind bars, designed not merely to improve living conditions but also to increase their chances of successfully reentering society. Maryland public safety officials, for instance, are pushing ahead with plans for a $1 billion jail, hospital, and mental health and substance use treatment facility in Baltimore at the site of the previous detention center. The complex is set to open in 2029. By allocating funding promptly as well as responsibly, D.C. can start down the same path to providing all in its jail a safe, clean and truly rehabilitative environment.