Cities across Midwest and East Coast enact emergency plans, alter July 4 celebrations as extreme heat builds

Cities across much of the central and eastern part of the country are activating emergency plans and altering America 250 celebrations as record-breaking high temperatures build across the nation through the July 4 holiday weekend.

New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago and other major metro areas have activated heat response plans, with more than 160 million people across the country already under Heat Alerts.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that cooling centers will begin to open Wednesday, including new, mobile cooling vans that will also allow city workers to provide hot weather wellness checks.

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Additional pop-up cooling stations will also be activated that will provide cold water to outdoor workers.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, this could be the first time NYC sees back-to-back 100 degree days since 2011.

Philadelphia is moving parts of the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival into cooled tents on Thursday and Friday.

In addition, the city is cutting its Independence Day Parade on Friday one mile shorter due to the expected extreme heat.

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Philly could tie its hottest temperature ever recorded, 106 degrees, later this week, the FOX Forecast Center said.

The nation's capital, which is a focal point for America 250 celebrations, could see three consecutive days of 100-degree temperatures.

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Mayor Muriel Bowser urged people on Tuesday to begin limiting time outdoors.

The City of Chicago said more than 200 citywide cooling centers could be made available, with heat index values expected to approach triple-digits Tuesday.

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