'You can die in this damned heat' - New Yorkers in a cooling center and fountain amid heat wave

Record ID: 1824200

  • Title: 'You can die in this damned heat' - New Yorkers in a cooling center and fountain amid heat wave
  • Date: 20th June 2024
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 20, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHILDREN AND A DOG SPLASHING IN THE FOUNTAIN AT WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK VISITOR FROM ATLANTA, TAYLOR (DECLINED TO GIVE LAST NAME), SAYING HELLO TO THE CAMERA, POINTING TO HIS SHIRT AND SAYING (English): "TEXAS HEAT" (SOUNDBITE) (English) VISITOR FROM ATLANTA, TAYLOR (DECLINED TO GIVE LAST NAME), SAYING:
  • Embargoed: 4th July 2024 20:30
  • Keywords: New York Washington Square Park fountain heat wave
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Environment,North America,Temperature
  • Reuters ID: LVA001248520062024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:U.S. cities are breaking decades-old temperature records this week as a heat wave stretches from central to eastern portions of the country, according to the National Weather Service. Officials are warning it could become a deadly weather event.
    New York Governor Kathy Hochul activated the state's Emergency Operations Center in response to high temperatures expected to last until the weekend.
    Under its heat emergency plan, New York City is opening its cooling centers for the first time this year.
    "It's hot out there," said Reuben Norman, cooling off at the Greenwich House - Older Adult Center at Center on the Square's cooling center near Washington Square Park on Thursday (June 20). "You can die in this damn heat."
    Eunice DeTrani, chair of the center’s art committee, came to the cooling center to do a bit of work.
    "I'm lucky I can come here and cool off, or in the fountain and bathe, one or the other," she said.
    Children and a dog at Washington Square Park cooled off in its famous fountain on another hot day.
    "This actually feels really nice," said Taylor, visiting from Atlanta. "Atlanta feels worse just from the past two weeks, so this feels kind of nice, but it's still a little hot and muggy."
    Parts of the U.S. Northeast and Midwest are wilting under a heat dome, with more than 86 million people under a heat alert on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
    A heat dome occurs when a strong, high-pressure system traps hot air over a region, preventing cool air from getting in and causing ground temperatures to remain high.
    (Production: Hussein Al Waaile, Roselle Chen)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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