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Nazaneen GhaffarErin McCannChristine Hauser and Mark Walker
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Aggressive heat swept across the New York region as sweltering weather stifled the Northeast on Thursday, disrupting travel and prompting emergency measures as states took precautions against hazardous heat and humidity ahead of a holiday weekend
The heat wave toppled records, many set during another sweltering summer nearly 60 years ago. The temperature in Central Park reached 100 degrees by 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, the first time it was that hot there since July 18, 2012, and it tied its daily record set in 1966
LaGuardia Airport in Queens hit 104, surpassing its daily high of 101 from 1966. It was the same story at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where the high was 102, breaking the same-day record of 101, also from 1966. And Newark Liberty International Airport reached 104 degrees, breaking its daily record of 103 set all the way back in 1901
Some 163 million people — from Missouri to Maine and south to Mississippi — live in areas that experienced dangerous heat on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Much of the weather that scorched the Midwest spilled over into the Northeast, sending “heat risk” forecasts in major cities — including New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Atlanta — into the most extreme risk category through Saturday
Temperatures in those cities hovered around 100 by noon on Thursday, with several daily records at risk of falling
Heat indexes — measures of how hot the air feels based on temperature and humidity — surged across the eastern United States, meaning heat cramps or heat exhaustion are likely, and heat stroke is possible, with prolonged exposure or physical activity
A weather station in Brooklyn recorded a heat index of 109, a threshold that was fairly widespread across the East Coast
The heat will persist on Friday, and poor air quality is expected to exacerbate health risks. New York City officials said the Air Quality Index was forecast to reach levels considered unhealthy for sensitive groups from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Those groups include children, older adults, pregnant people and those with respiratory conditions
In much of the Northeast, the temperature is not expected to dip much below 80 on Thursday and Friday night. By Saturday, many people will very likely be facing the third or fourth consecutive day of stern warnings to avoid being outside in the hottest parts of the day
“Dangerous, record-breaking heat” was expected to continue on Friday, across most of the central and eastern United States, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures are predicted to be similar to those that were recorded on Thursday, with afternoon highs in the mid-90s to low 100s
The heat index, a measure of how hot it really feels outside, could get up to 115 degrees
Temperature-related conditions disrupted rail travel along parts of the Northeast corridor. Local officials urged people to stay indoors, in air-conditioning and to check on their neighbors
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Why it’s hot: The meteorological phenomenon causing the extreme heat is a sprawling high-pressure system, also known as a heat dome. Like a lid on a boiling pot, heat domes trap the air beneath them, pushing warm air toward the ground that, as it sinks, compresses and becomes much hotter
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Global warming: While tying a single heat wave to climate change requires extensive analysis, scientists say that heat waves have grown longer, hotter and more frequent. The past 11 years have been the hottest on record
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Cooling off: The extreme heat threatens the stability of electrical grids across the eastern United States. Cities and towns in many parts of the country have opened libraries, senior centers and other air-conditioned spaces. Experts urged residents to stay hydrated, plan their days around the heat and to know the warning signs of heat illness
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When will it end? For many, the heat wave will start to ebb on Sunday, as the heat dome starts to weaken. Many of the most extreme heat warnings will have passed, but dangerous heat is likely to remain across parts of the Washington metro area, Virginia and the Carolinas
Amy Graff and Dani Blum
It’s still going to be really hot tonight
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The blistering temperatures that have been scorching the central and eastern United States on Thursday will dip at night — but not by much. They will drop only into the 70s to low 80s, about 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year
Warm overnight temperatures can be dangerous, especially in places without air-conditioning, because the body cannot cool down and recover as much. When the body overheats and its internal temperature rises, people become more susceptible to heat-related illness
Some weather stations, forecasters said, will record night temperatures that break what are known as “daily record high minimums,” the hottest night temperatures documented on that date
While in a heat wave it is not unusual to have high overnight lows, current conditions may be even hotter because of this heat wave’s high humidity
“When the amount of moisture in the air is particularly high, it tends to make nights that much warmer, and daytime highs, if anything, slightly cooler than they would be if it was less humid,” said Radley Horton, a professor at Columbia University’s Climate School
Heat can be the enemy of good sleep, but there are steps you can take to cool down at the end of the day. You can place a cool, damp rag on your forehead and wear loose, thin pajamas. A lukewarm shower can also help lower your core body temperature
Dr. Kelly Gill, a sleep medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine, suggested keeping socks in the refrigerator or freezer and then putting them on at the end of the day
Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula, a professor of sleep medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, advised not eating within two hours of going to bed to avoid raising the body’s internal temperature. She also emphasized the importance of hydrating, to make sure you can replenish the liquid you’re losing while sweating
And if your bedroom does not have air conditioning, it is best to take pre-emptive measures to help you sleep. During the day, block out the sun by putting a sheet or blanket in your window. At night, place a fan in an open window to pull in cooler air from outside and help circulate it
Though it’s intuitive to want to sleep uncovered, using a light sheet or summer comforter can help regulate your body temperature
Dangerous Heat Forecast in the U.S. ›
Caution
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Note: Forecast data is as of 8:52 a.m. Eastern on July 2, 2026
Christina Caron
For older adults, heat and isolation can be a deadly combination
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In July 1995, temperatures in Chicago soared to 106. The heat index, which measures how the air actually feels because of combined heat and humidity, rose to 125. More than 700 people died
Afterward, Eric Klinenberg, now a professor of sociology at New York University, decided to investigate how this heat wave became so deadly. Several factors contributed to the fatalities, he discovered, but one of the most significant was the social isolation of older adults, especially in the city’s impoverished neighborhoods
“Unfortunately, even more Americans are aging alone and becoming isolated today than they were in 1995,” Dr. Klinenberg said. “Cities need to do a better job protecting them, by sending home health workers out to knock on doors and sending air-conditioned buses into neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and large numbers of older people.”
Public health leaders have become much more aware of the dangers of extreme heat since 1995. But scores of people are still dying from heat-related causes
According to New York City’s latest annual heat-related mortality report, it’s estimated that each summer hundreds of New Yorkers die because of hot weather, most commonly because the heat worsened a chronic condition like heart disease
While the city isn’t able to determine the circumstances behind each of these deaths, officials can investigate the small number that they could attribute directly to “heat stress.” Among those who die from heat stress, the city found, many are exposed to deadly heat at home
“I would imagine that many of them are dying alone,” said Dr. Alister Martin, the New York City health commissioner. He added that “socially isolated older adults are absolutely at an increased risk” of dying from heat-related causes
A 2018 study of how New Yorkers behave during heat waves found that participants who said they could not keep cool at home still often chose to stay at home, despite the heat. Only 12 percent of the group reported going to a public place with air-conditioning, such as a community center or library
“Not having someone check in on you or someone connected to you day to day, you might succumb to the heat,” said Jaime Madrigano, an associate professor of environmental epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Healthand the lead author of the 2018 study
According to a spokesman for the New York City Department for the Aging, case managers called more than 2,500 older New Yorkers on Wednesday to ask how they were managing the heat
And on Thursday, NYC Health + Hospitals sent 15 mobile outreach teams across the city to provide water, access to air-conditioning and transportation to city cooling centers. Six other teams were working with the city’s Department for the Aging to conduct in-home wellness checks for vulnerable older adults
While these outreach efforts are important, Dr. Klinenberg said, it’s crucial that New Yorkers look out for one another, especially those who might not have close friends or family nearby
“Our neighbors are the real first responders,” he said
Kevin WilliamsDan Simmons and Jacey Fortin
Animals need to cool off, too
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On a scorching afternoon this week in the Milwaukee suburbs, the squirrels were splooting in the shade
They looked as flat as pancakes, said Rachelle Manke of Whitefish Bay, Wis., who spotted the fluffy-tailed rodents lying under a vehicle in her driveway with their bellies down and their legs splayed. A glance into her neighbor’s yard revealed another squirrel plopped flatly on a tree branch
“I know splooting is a behavior squirrels do to cool themselves off,” Ms. Manke said
Splooting — the sillier term for what scientists also refer to as “heat dumping” or “pancaking” — is a summertime strategy employed by squirrels, cats, dogs and other animals that don’t perspire like humans. It helps them transfer heat away from their bodies by exposing more of their surface area to a cool surface
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Mammals have to keep their body temperatures fairly consistent, said Jennifer Smith, an animal ecologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
“When it’s hot outside, it can impose a cost,” she added, “and so they have this behavioral adaptation, which is adorable to notice in nature and also really helpful for keeping their bodies at a constant temperature.”
The tactic is especially useful when the heat index exceeds 100, as it did in Ms. Manke’s backyard
Determined to help the splooting squirrels, she left a bowl of ice water outside. A while later, she saw “Whitey,” a gray squirrel with a white tail, slurping up the refreshment
“My honest reaction was pure joy,” Ms. Manke said. “There is so much negativity in the world right now. Knowing that I made a positive impact, even for just one squirrel, made my whole day.”
The squirrels were not the only animals to endure the heat wave with help from humans
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In Cincinnati, which was on Thursday under an excessive heat warning for the second day in a row, workers at the city zoo were pulling out all the stops to keep everyone cool
The three troops of gorillas at the Cincinnati Zoo were given chilly treats — frozen blocks of sugar-free fruit punch — which they cradled, chomped or smashed into shareable pieces. Two orphaned bear cubs, recently rescued from Montana, rolled around in several gallons of ice. Eight elephants spent the afternoon swimming and splashing in a newly built 200,000-gallon pond, prompting laughs and squeals from visiting children
“We designed these habitats with the animals’ needs in mind,” David Jenike, the zoo’s director, said as he watched the elephants play
Creatures that were built for equatorial heat, like hippos and giraffes, seemed to feel right at home in Cincinnati during the heat wave. “Animals from places like Asia and Africa are used to these temperatures, but the key is to provide water, shade and indoor access,” said Michelle Curley, a spokeswoman for the zoo
While the zoo also aims to keep human visitors comfortable, the crowds were somewhat sparse on Thursday. People who braved the heat carried fans, frequented misting stations or kept to the indoor exhibits. Most agreed that the soaring temperatures didn’t feel like Cincinnati
“I’m from south Georgia, and right now, it feels no different than 20 miles from the Florida line,” said Keith Debose, 65. “I want to jump into the water with the penguins, but they won’t let me.”
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Sejal Govindarao
‘It’s been rough’: People across the Northeast slog through the heat
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People across the Northeast were awash in sweat on Thursday, as a stifling heat wave took particular aim at cities along the Interstate 95 corridor
In Washington, Philadelphia and Boston, heat indexes surged into the triple digits, making it feel significantly hotter than the actual temperatures, which were expected to soar in the afternoon
In North Philadelphia, as the temperature soared toward 100 degrees, a team of artists hugged the scant shade and wiped sweat from their brows as they installed a yarn mural on the fence of an abandoned Checkers fast food location
“Quite frankly, it’s been rough,” said Ydaly Mer, 26, adding that many passers-by had asked for bottled water from the group’s cooler. “I saw a guy yesterday, like, I just offered water to, because I could tell he was struggling, like a lot of people out here.”
At the Turkey Thicket Recreation Center in Washington, beads of sweat rolled down Adam Pierre’s forehead as he emptied the last of his water into his 4-year-old daughter’s water bottle. Atop their car, in the recreation center’s parking lot, lay wet towels and foam water guns from their time playing in the center’s splash pad
“Getting out of that water, I didn’t realize how hot it was,” said Mr. Pierre, 45. “When I stepped out, it was like, instantly, I almost dried off.”
The sweltering heat is expected to stretch into the long July 4 weekend as temperatures could again hit triple digits on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. New York City is projected to be 101 degrees, Philadelphia and Washington could hit 104 degrees
In cities, a lack of trees and an abundance of concrete can make some neighborhoods feel much hotter than their more affluent and shaded counterparts
Lathifa Hunter said she was shocked by how extreme the heat felt in Hunting Park, one of North Philadelphia’s hottest neighborhoods, having moved there from a suburb in Maryland two years ago
“I know there’s a difference because there’s no trees,” said Ms. Hunter, 45. “The suburbs are a lot cooler because of the trees. Here there’s asphalt, so that emits heat, and it definitely makes it hotter here.”
Hundreds of miles north, the Buckman Tavern, a Revolutionary War site turned museum in Lexington, Mass., was having no problem attracting tourists despite the punishing temperatures. Perhaps the desire to celebrate America’s 250th birthday was stronger than the heat
It was also cool inside
“We’re crazy busy,” said Carol Daniels, a museum educator at the tavern, noting that nearly twice the typical number of people had walked through the doors on Thursday morning
Reporting was contributed by Kyle Bagenstose in Philadelphia, Heather Beasley Doyle in Lexington, Mass., and Clarence Williams in Washington
Andy Newman
The heat index has roots in a paper called ‘The Assessment of Sultriness.’
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In recent days, you may have seen or heard many mentions of a metric of discomfort called the heat index, which purports to measure how hot the air actually feels, based on the temperature and humidity
You also may have noticed that the heat index is a higher number than the temperature — sometimes impressively, oppressively higher. For example, as I type these words, the temperature in Central Park is 98, but the heat index is 105. Basically, it feels hotter when it’s more humid because more moisture in the air means that less perspiration evaporates from your skin
But what, exactly, is the heat index, and how did “they” figure it out?
It turns out that the heat index is simply a more computationally intensive variant on the maxim “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” in which, if T is temperature and H is relative humidity, the maxim becomes this:
“It’s not just the heat, it’s (T × 2.049) + (H × 10.143) – (T × H× 0.225) – (T² × 0.007) – (H²× 0.055) + (T²× H × 0.001) + (H² × T × 0.001) – (T²× H²× 0.000002) – 42.379.”
And how, you may wonder, did they come up with that? We asked the author of the equation. His name is Lans Rothfusz, and he’s a retired National Weather Service meteorologist and recipient of the National Weather Association’s 2014 operational achievement award
Mr. Rothfusz, 66, said he developed the heat index equation in 1990 when he was “a punk intern” at the Weather Service’s Southern Region Headquarters in Fort Worth
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He said that he was merely standing on the shoulders of a heat-measuring giant: an Australian textile engineer named Robert G. Steadman, who in 1979 published a paper called “The Assessment of Sultriness. Part I: A Temperature-Humidity Index Based on Human Physiology and Clothing Science.”
Dr. Steadman died in 2022, but his daughter, Jennifer Steadman, said Thursday that he developed an apparent temperature scale because he was a competitive racewalker who needed to figure out how to dress while training and found existing temperature models to be “wholly inadequate.” He came up with a chart that took into account many variables. All Mr. Rothfusz did was use a math technique called multiple regression analysis to develop an equation that yields, approximately, the Steadman chart.
In his 1990 technical paper for the Weather Service, Mr. Rothfusz listed some of the Steadman sultriness parameters that are folded into the equation, including convection from the surface of the skin (“influenced by kinematic viscosity of air”) and vapor pressures of skin and clothing
He also noted that the Steadman calculation was based on a set of assumptions: A person is assumed to be 5-foot-7 and 147 pounds. Clothing cover is assumed to be long trousers and a short-sleeve shirt, covering 84 percent of the skin. Activity level is assumed to be walking at 3.1 miles an hour
“It is far more complicated to understand the heat index for individuals,” Mr. Rothfusz said on Thursday, “because everybody’s different — different weight, height, that sort of thing.” The Weather Service’s heat index, in other words, may not be yours
The Weather Service also does not account for variables like sunshine in its heat index
But another meteorological outfit does. The private forecasting juggernaut AccuWeather has a product called RealFeel that factors in, among other things, sunshine, wind speed, precipitation and cloud cover. But exactly how it weights these things is a trade secret, much like Colonel Sanders’s blend of 11 herbs and spices
“The RealFeel Temperature is protected by two patents, which ensure that no other index can include temperature and more than one other factor,” AccuWeather warns
Mr. Rothfusz, whose work is public because it was produced for the government, remains impressed by the reach of his calculation
“I published this little paper that was just intended to communicate it within the National Weather Service,” he said, “and suddenly it just became the thing.”
We asked if he felt a rush of pride when he heard people talking about the heat index
“I’m just glad that the Weather Service is still communicating that information,” he said
Claire Fahy
New York City has its hottest day in nearly 14 years
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Central Park reported a temperature of 100 degrees on Thursday as a heat wave swept across the Northeast ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend
The last time the park recorded 100 degrees was July 18, 2012. The reading came at 1:51 p.m. from a thermometer stationed at Belvedere Castle in Central Park, which is the city’s official weather station. It also tied a record for July 2, which last reached 100 degrees in 1966
The record heat settled over the concrete sidewalks and glinting steel skyscrapers just as many were preparing for a busy weekend of events in New York City
There were the reported wedding festivities of Taylor Swift, the pop star, and Travis Kelce, the football player, on July 3 in Midtown Manhattan at Madison Square Garden, which was thought to be drawing celebrities to the city as temperatures soared
Then there were the various celebrations of America’s 250th birthday, including a tall ships parade and Macy’s fireworks on July 4. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to appear on an aircraft carrier for the ships parade on Saturday, and temperatures are expected to remain high
And while the fireworks are scheduled to take place well after sundown, relief from the heat would likely be minimal, as overnight temperatures are expected to fall into the 70s to low 80s
That’s not to mention the World Cup, which is taking place across the Hudson River in New Jersey. Norway will take on Brazil there in a round of 16 match on Sunday, when temperatures are expected to be a much more reasonable 85 degrees or so. Norway is fresh off its first-ever knockout round win after it beat Ivory Coast on Tuesday
Tourists from dozens of countries have filled the streets of Manhattan since the tournament kicked off in June, and many will be witnessing historic heat in addition to their national teams’ historic feats
Claire Brown
This is your brain on extreme heat
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With more than 160 million people under extreme heat advisories as the Fourth of July weekend approaches, warnings about the dangers are clear: Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States. It can also make you irritable and worse at math
A growing body of research has shown that our brains work differently when temperatures spike. Test scores fall and drivers honk more often. The good news is that we’re learning a lot more about how heat affects the brain
But there are longer-term effects of exposure to heat to consider, too. Recent research has found that hotter weather may make the brain more vulnerable to air pollution, increasing the risk for dementia and Parkinson’s disease
Here’s what to know about the effects extreme heat can have on the human brain, and what science says about preventing the worst outcomes
A hot day and the brain
“Our brains work best under certain optimal temperatures and environments,” Burcin Ikiz, a neuroscientist and the director of the research group EcoNeuro, said recently while appearing on a panel at the National Academies
“Anything that deerent environment, can cause stress on our brains,” she added
The reaction can make people feel slower, angrier and less able to focus
Several studies have found higher temperatures correlate with lower test scores. A 2025 analysis of three million tests taken by students from third to eighth grade found that math test scores worsened on hot days, with the effect being particularly pronounced at schools with high poverty rates. The researchers speculated that the higher-poverty schools with the bigger drops may have had worse air-conditioning
High temperatures are also associated with increased accident rates at workplaces and upticks in violent crime. Researchers studying “reactive aggression” have found that people playing video games in a hot room acted more spitefully than those in a cool room
Do your best to stay cool
At the individual level, the advice for extreme heat is straightforward: Try to stay cool. If air-conditioning isn’t available, close the curtains, drink cold fluids and avoid using the oven or stove. To remain protected against air pollution, stay indoors with the windows shut, keep an eye on the air quality index and avoid outdoor exercise when advised
Cities are doing their part by opening cooling centers, repainting dark surfaces, investing in shade and converting air-raid shelters into heat relief zones
A person cannot do much to control local air quality overnight. But the State of Global Air report — an annual study put together by the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation — noted last year that air quality improved across much of the world between 2010 and 2023, and that the richest countries tended to enjoy the cleanest air
Many governments continue to improve air quality by imposing limits on vehicle exhaust and polluting industries like coal, though wildfire smoke remains a growing concern
There can be trade-offs for better air quality. The particulate matter that causes health problems in humans actually cools the climate by blocking the sun. Removing it from the atmosphere has been shown to worsen extreme heat
Ann Hinga Klein
Reporting from Des Moines
In the Midwest, ‘corn sweat’ is contributing to the sweltering heat
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While urban dwellers have acres of concrete to blame for intensifying the misery of this week’s heat wave, people in America’s heartland have their own culprit: corn sweat
In a process botanists call transpiration, plants release some of the water they’ve pulled from soil through tiny pores, called stomata, on the surface of their leaves. In Iowa, where about 85 percent of the total land area is dedicated to farming, most of it allocated to corn and soybeans (which also sweat), that adds up to a lot of moisture
In fact, sweating corn can add as much as 4,000 gallons of water vapor to the atmosphere per acre per day an educator with University of Illinois Extension
When you add plant transpiration to evaporation from soil and bodies of water, the result is a process meteorologists call evapotranspiration. And while they’ve understood it for a long time, Andrew Ansorge, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, said the more colloquial name “corn sweat” has entered the mainstream thanks to social media
The Gulf of Mexico remains the mainorge said, but meteorologists usually start seeing the added moisture from crop transpiration in routine dew-point measurements by around the third week in June
Hot temperatures like the ones Iowans have endured this week kick corn’s sweating into high gear, in part because warmer air can hold more water vapor, said Jen Brady, a researcher with Climate Central, a nonpartisan group that reports on climate change
But eventually the air can become so saturated it cannot take in any more moisture, and that’s bad news for humans, Ms. Brady says
“Part of the reason why the humidity is so uncomfortable is because we can’t use our natural cooling system, which is sweating, to cool ourselves off, because the air is saturated. And it’s just saying, ‘No more,’ you know,” she said. “‘I can’t take your sweat, too.’”
Sarah Maslin Nir and Christopher Maag
All New York suffers in a heat wave. It’s worse in Jamaica, Queens
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In a slice of park alongside the Van Wyck Expressway in Jamaica, Queens, Christina Charlie and her 6-year-old daughter sat in the only shade available — a patch of shadow underneath a jungle gym. Ms. Charlie was holding a water gun, and every so often she would spray at her daughter’s forehead, then her own
As a heat wave began to throttle New York City this week, with temperatures expected to reach about 100 degrees on Thursday, the discomfort was not felt evenly across the city. New Yorkers all over are suffering, but some must endure the extreme weather in neighborhoods where the heat not only feels more oppressive but is also more difficult to escape
More than nearly any place in New York, the heat was most acutely felt in this part of Queens; Jamaica is one of the roughly three dozen neighborhoods that public health experts deem extremely vulnerable to heat. It is deficient in nearly all the amenities that provide relief from a heat wave, like leafy parks, tree-lined sidewalks and easy access to air-conditioned spaces. And it is poor, like many other heat-vulnerable communities
As Ms. Charlie and her daughter sweated in their little patch of shade in the park, she said it was still preferable to being at home: The central air in her apartment was shut off on the hottest day of the summer so far. She hadn’t paid the bill
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“They need some trees or something in this park,” Ms. Charlie, 30, said, between spritzing them both with the squirt gun. “It is hot as hell out here.”
Since 2015, the city has rated neighborhoods according to its Heat Vulnerability Index, a metric developed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The index examines factors that drive heat death, including surface temperatures; lack of access to green space and home air-conditioning; and income. Jamaica scores the worst: a five out of five
To combat the disparity — which contributes to the approximately 500 heat-related deaths in New York City each year — the city rolled out emergency measures this week, including hundreds of pop-up cooling centers, using the vulnerability rubric to direct its response. Heat-vulnerable neighborhoods in all five boroughs will see a larger share of cooling re
In Jamaica on Thursday, the afternoon heat index — what the heat actually feels like — will pass 110 degrees. And unlike leafy, more affluent places like Riverdale, in the Bronx, where air-conditioners protrude from high-rises and trees shade nearly 70 percent of the area, there is little escape
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“We know that extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in New York City,” Jeremy Edwards, a spokesman for Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “And we will continue using every tool available to help ensure all communities are prepared and we keep all New Yorkers safe.”
“Heat risk is not just about the temperature,” said Carolyn Olson, the assistant commissioner for environmental surveillance and policy with the health department “Even more important is the access to relief.”
As the temperature climbed toward triple digits this week, the only thing on Chris Rousseau’s mind was how to cool off his 2-year-old daughter. Mr. Rousseau, 35, a New York City Police Department officer, trudged along a treeless Archer Avenue on Wednesday, pushing his daughter’s tricycle. The only breeze was from a whirring fan attached to her handlebars and pointed toward her face
Just 20 percent of Jamaica has tree cover, lower than the citywide average of about 24 percent. Earlier this year, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice released a plan that called for expanding the city’s canopy to 30 percent
The sprinklers were broken at the park nearest to Officer Rousseau’s house, so he was making the trek to Gateway Park beside the expressway in search of a working spritz. “She’s the only one I’m worried about,” he said, gesturing to his perspiring child
From cracking open hydrants to riding air-conditioned subway cars back and forth, New Yorkers searched for ways to cope. Waiting for an Uber at Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue, an intersection that steamed with the scent of exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke and past-ripe mangoes, Serge Ayite, 32, a restaurant manager, revealed the secret to his uncannily crisp shirt and cool demeanor. “I shower four times a day,” Mr. Ayite said
Last June alone, a spate of record-breaking temperatures resulted in 19 deaths, according to the a Heat-Related Mortality Report, which warned of worse to come as the city prepares for a hotter future. Last year, the City Council passed legislation that requires landlords to install air-conditioning on demand, but it will only go into effect in 2030. Even so, there are many who say they cannot afford it
“The No. 1 risk factor for heat-related death is not having an air-conditioner indoors,” said Ms. Olson. “Although most people think the danger is outdoors, the people who die from heatstroke are most likely to not have or use air-conditioners and be exposed to life-threatening heat in their homes.”
And while there is a federally financed Home Energy Assistance Program that provided poor New Yorkers with money for air-conditioners or repairs, it is no longer accepting new applicants for this season, and it does not cover bills during the summer. Utility companies do have energy assistance programs, but the application process can be cumbersome, and many do not know about it
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When Shatira Monique entered her 19th floor apartment in Jamaica on Wednesday afternoon, it was like opening a door to an oven. A wall of heat blasted her and her 4-year-old daughter, Journee. Ms. Monique, 31, who is not working, said she did not realize her central air bill was not included in her rent, and the utility had been shut off the day before. She gave Journee an ice pop
On Thursday, they planned to escape the heat and drive to family in North Carolina. “We have to get out of here,” Ms. Monique said. “This is not acceptable.”
The New York Times
Hotter, more frequent and longer-lasting: climate change’s influence on heat waves
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The planet’s temperature is rising. And so is the intensity of heat waves
Since accurate record-keeping began a little less than two centuries ago, all 11 of the warmest years ever recorded have occurred in the past 11 years
This week, a heat wave is sweeping parts of the United States. Last month, Europe was hit hard. And while it requires research before knowing whether a particular heat wave was intensified by climate change, scientists have been clear: In general, heat waves around the world are becoming hotter, more frequent and longer lasting
The mechanism is straightforward. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, when released into the atmosphere, act like a blanket, trapping the sun’s heat. This has been raising temperatures worldwide for more than a century; 2025 was about 1.4 degrees Celsius, or 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than before the industrial revolution
The most recent National Climate Assessment, a major scientific report by the federal government that was published in 2023, noted that across all regions of the United States, people are experiencing warming temperatures and longer-lasting heat waves
As humans continue adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, record-breaking heat will become more common, scientists say, as will extreme weather events like droughts, wildfires and floods
A 2024 study found that heat weaves are increasingly moving sluggishly as well as lasting longer, changes that have been more noticeable since the late 1990s. The longer heat waves stick around in one place, the longer people are exposed to life-threatening temperatures. As workers slow down during extreme heat, so does economic productivity
There’s also evidence that summer nights have warmed at twice the rate of days. Climate change contributes to that, along with the urban “heat island” effect, which is when things that absorb heat during the day, like buildings, then radiate heat at night
When nighttime temperatures don’t drop enough to give people’s bodies a reprieve from the heat, that can also head to dangerous health effects
