While the forests are burning in California, people and animals on the east coast are groaning under the great heat. In the government capital of Washington – like in many other cities in the country – there were high temperatures and uncomfortable humidity at the weekend.
Locals and tourists tried to cool off with cold drinks and footbaths in one of the public fountains.
There, as well as in Philadelphia and Boston, the authorities declared a “heat-related emergency”, which, among other things, allows swimming pools to be open longer.
In New York, the thermometer rose to 95 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend – around 35 degrees Celsius. The purest hell tour for humans and four-legged friends.
70-year-old Juanito Yu has a water bottle from the freezer ready for his little dog. “I try to make her as comfortable as possible with an ice-cold water bottle.”
There was also cooling in the Pet Pool, a paddling pool especially for pets. Many pet owners would have preferred to climb in themselves. Sheila Lee, who knows dogs, explains, “Dogs can overheat quickly and you might not even realize it. Because they’re closer to the ground on the hot sidewalk, they can burn their paws. That’s tough.”
The City of New York provided water dispensers and called on residents to use less energy and turn down their air conditioning.
At the beginning of the week there was some all-clear on the heat front – but the uneasy feeling remained that more and more frequent and intense heat waves will be normal in the future.
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