New Jersey heat wave kills 29, advocates call it mass casualty event

Between July 2 and July 6, New Jersey recorded 29 heat‑related deaths as temperatures peaked at 108 °F, a five‑fold rise from the previous summer. Around a dozen of the fatalities involved people who were unhoused or living in cars. State health officials noted most deaths occurred in north and central parts of the state and involved all ages. Emergency rooms diagnosed 132 heat‑related illnesses on July 3, the highest single‑day total in years, and more than 350 people sought emergency care for heat issues during the period.

Advocates, including Connie Mercer, CEO of the NJ Coalition to End Homelessness, labelled the spike a “mass casualty event” and urged the state to expand emergency cooling centers and adopt stronger occupational heat‑stress protections. State Senator Joe Cryan is pushing a bill that would require farms, amusement parks and other outdoor workplaces to provide water, shade breaks and heat‑stress monitoring. Governor Mikie Sherrill announced a new heat‑health website and emphasized that “extreme heat is the number one weather‑related killer in America,” calling for residents to look out for one another.

The incident highlights growing concerns about climate‑related health risks and the need for broader public‑health measures in the state.