BBC: Extreme heat has disrupted Fourth of July celebrations across parts of the US, including the cancellation of a parade in Washington DC.
The Great American State Fair in the nation’s capital – marking the country’s 250th birthday – was also temporarily shut after multiple people were treated for heat-related illnesses.
More than 165 million people were sweltering on Friday under record temperatures along the US East Coast and Midwest, according to the US National Weather Service.
The heatwave is disrupting the holiday weekend as US President Donald Trump hosts a celebration marking America’s 250th birthday, while multiple World Cup matches take place outdoors.
The 4 July holiday is traditionally characterised by lots of outdoors activities – barbecues, community parades and fireworks at night.
But multiple events commemorating the US holiday – and the country’s 250th birthday – were cancelled due to the blistering heat, from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland to as far west as Colorado.
Among the cancelled events on Friday was Philadelphia’s Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade, which was tipped to be one of the biggest events across the US.
“As much as this decision pains everyone inside our organisation, we simply cannot host an event of this size and scale under these dangerous heat conditions,” Michael DelBene, the CEO of parade organiser Wawa Welcome America, said in a statement to the BBC.
In Washington, an Independence Day morning was cancelled “after extensive and careful consideration of the safety of our participants, spectators and staff as the top priority”, organisers said.
The intense heat also led to the closure of the fair on the National Mall for several hours on Friday, one day before the holiday. The State Fair reopened at 17:00 local time (21:00 GMT) after conditions improved, organiser Freedom 250 said.
“The safety and wellbeing of our guests, volunteers, performers, vendors and staff is our highest priority,” it said.
The DC Fire and EMS Department treated several people for “heat-related illnesses” at the fair on Friday, a spokesperson for the department told the BBC. He said these were caused by “record-breaking temperatures” at the event.
At least 11 people were taken by ambulance from the fair, the spokesperson said, but did not elaborate on whether all had heat-related illnesses.
“It is going to be a very busy weekend,” a spokesperson for the DC Fire and EMS Department told the Washington Post.
