Scorching, record-breaking temperatures on Tuesday kept many people indoors throughout the metropolitan region, strained the electrical grid and stoked concerns among those who are the most vulnerable to the heat, including older New Yorkers and the very young.
It was 99 degrees in Central Park this afternoon, the hottest June 24 temperature since records started there in 1869. Kennedy Airport recorded the hottest June day since the site was built in 1948, at 102 degrees.
It is the second year in a row that a heat wave has hit the New York City region earlier than usual, as global warming is projected to worsen heat waves and make them more frequent, climate experts say.
“Our warming climate underlies everything,” said David Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist and a geography professor at Rutgers University. “It’s not about the highest temperature; it’s about how long it stays hot and the area of coverage of that heat. It’s 100 up in New England today and down here as well.”
Of the 69 weather stations in New Jersey, Mr. Robinson said, over 30 hit 100 degrees. He added that the 10 hottest summers on record for the state had all occurred since 2005.
As climate change wreaks havoc with the traditional calendar, the familiar rhythms of the seasons have begun to shift. New York City pools, for example, are not scheduled to open for the summer until Friday.
The extreme heat — a result of a so-called heat dome trapping much of the Northeast under a high-pressure canopy of hot air — led to over 100 people being treated for heat-related illnesses and numerous hospitalizations during high school graduation ceremonies in Paterson, N.J., on Monday. Later that day, the mayor of Paterson, André Sayegh, declared a state of emergency, canceling all outdoor recreational activities and moving other graduation events indoors.
In New York City, a smattering of outdoor events were canceled on Tuesday, including all walks for older adults, community-led runs and group training workouts sponsored by New York Road Runners, the running nonprofit that organizes the New York City Marathon.
As of 5 p.m., almost 13,000 customers had no power across New York, with several thousand of those in the New York City and Westchester area, and over 22,000 customers had no power in New Jersey, according to Poweroutage.us, which tracks data from utility companies.
On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for 32 counties, including those in New York City and much of Central and Western New York.
In New York City on Tuesday, the heat did not appear to have affected turnout for a fiercely contested Democratic primary vote for mayor, even as only about 60 percent of polling stations had air-conditioning. Nor were long lines under the blistering sun an issue, as voters got in and out of polling sites in a matter of minutes, said Vincent Ignizio, a spokesman for the Board of Elections.
Mr. Ignizio said he was more concerned about the polling workers who were committed to the 17-hour Tuesday shift at sites without air-conditioning. The Board of Elections distributed water and, for the first time, red, white and blue paddle fans to all of the approximately 35,000 poll workers.
Most polling sites are at public schools, Mr. Ignizio said. And although many classrooms have air-conditioning, it’s more difficult to cool large assembly areas, which are where voting takes place and which often depend on industrial-size fans. “We’re doing the best we can under a difficult situation for the entire city,” he said.
Since Sunday, city officials have held daily coordination meetings to manage the extreme heat, according to a spokeswoman for New York City Emergency Management. There are 496 cooling centers open at libraries, community centers and other facilities, she said.
For Wednesday, the city has issued both a heat advisory — with heat index readings (which reflect how humidity affects perception of temperature) soaring to 102 degrees or higher, and an air quality advisory that will make the air unhealthy for those sensitive to pollution (adults over 65, children younger than 14, New Yorkers who are pregnant or have other medical conditions, and outdoor workers).
But by Thursday, the National Weather Service said, temperatures will fall to the 60s and 70s, right in time for the opening of the city’s pools.
Hilary Howard is a Times reporter covering how the New York City region is adapting to climate change and other environmental challenges.
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