New York City had to cancel a Central Park festival and a Times Square moon landing commemoration because of the high temperatures. The National Weather Service (NWS) cautioned that the “dangerous heatwave” could break record highs, especially at night. The NWS expects daytime temperatures to reach levels of nearly 90F and when coupled with high humidity could disturb normal lives. The elderly and young children must take precautions.

The Guardian says Mayor Bill de Blasio decided to cancel the OZY Fest. It was an outdoor festival for Saturday and Sunday in Central Park.

It would have featured soccer star Megan Rapinoe, along with musician John Legend. A spokesperson for the Mayor also confirmed cancellation of an event to commemorate the 1969 Moon landing at the Times Square. Also on the list of cancellations was the New York City Triathlon.

Soaring temperatures disturb lives

Other parts of the country are also feeling the effect of soaring temperatures. One of these is on racehorses. In New Jersey, one horse-racing track had to cancel six races and reschedule one of its mega-events. Animal rights activists descended on the scene to protest outside the New Jersey Shore track before the beginning of the first race.

In view of a number of horse deaths in California, several tracks canceled their Saturday races.

The Guardian also mentions about Philadelphia. A partial power outage led to the evacuation of a large number of people from a retirement community.

It was not clear whether the outage had any relation to heat. The authorities shifted them to a nearby shelter, and some to hospitals for evaluation. In Chicago, heat forced organizers of a marathon series to cancel one of three races. It was a 5km one on Saturday. However, the 10km one scheduled for Sunday will be there. Some cities in Vermont and New Hampshire opened shelters where people could cool off.

Blame it on climate change

According to CNN, the National Weather Service warned about the dangerous heatwave set to peak this weekend from the Great Plains to the East Coast. It will mean more than two-thirds of the United States will face temperatures in triple digits. There is a report of one death. The victim was in his 30s and he fell ill while working outside during a heat advisory in Arkansas and died of heatstroke.

New York City has opened many cooling centers while officials in Massachusetts urge residents to wear loose clothing and look out for signs of a heat stroke. In the opinion of an official of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, “The threat of heatwaves will become more serious across the globe and more widespread as the climate crisis continues.” It seems 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001.

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