Heat domes are dangerous. Fourth of July activities will make matters worse

Like New York The city is bracing for an intense heat wave amid the July 4 weekend and World Cup celebrations, and government officials and local hospitals are stepping up efforts to prevent heat-related illnesses.

Temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) by Thursday, with a heat index between 105 and 110 degrees — unusually hot for New York. Friday is expected to be very hot.

“These are very dangerous conditions, and they will affect every part of our city,” New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Many major cities have heat emergency plans that include setting up cooling centers, communicating with at-risk residents, and sending emergency alerts. As heat waves become more severe and common as the planet warms, more cities are writing and implementing these types of plans to keep residents safe.

This year, New York City activated its emergency heat plan for the first time on May 19 — the soonest it will ever do so — due to an intense spring heatwave that pushed temperatures past the 90-degree mark across the Northeast. She activated that plan again in preparation for the latest heat wave.

As part of this emergency plan, the city will have more than 650 cooling plants in operation, including libraries, entertainment centers and Petco stores, as well as some additional “non-traditional” cooling plants, which include government buildings, says Christina Farrell, New York City’s emergency management commissioner. She says extreme heat warnings are becoming more common in New York.

The Mamdani administration is deploying refrigerator vans throughout the city to provide health screenings, medical care, water, electrolytes and sunscreen, as well as transportation to cooling centers or health care facilities. LinkNYC kiosks, which have replaced old payphones throughout the city, will also be programmed to display walking directions to the nearest cooling centre, another new initiative under Mamdani.

To help the grid handle more residential cooling demand, business owners are being asked to set their thermostats to 78 degrees, which is what the Department of Energy recommends during peak summer months.

City Department of Social Services staff will conduct in-person outreach to unhoused people. Individuals requiring short-term housing will not be required to go through typical admission procedures to shelters under the heating plan.

Philadelphia is also bracing for extreme heat. The city – which is hosting a World Cup match on July 4 – has activated its emergency heat plan and moved its FIFA Fan Fest hours to the evening. The city will have refrigeration, tents, free water filling stations, shaded areas and multiple medical stations for fans. However, the match between Paraguay and France will start at 5pm ET, with the temperature expected to remain well above 100 degrees with heat and humidity.