<\/p>\n
Micheal, a Cape Verde fan, plays on his fathers phone while avoiding the Houston heat under an umbrella during a march toward Houston Stadium on\u00a0June 26, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
A man rides on the sidewalk surrounding Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston on July 21, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
A Heat Relief Station pumping cool air inside an oversized tent is waiting to relieve World Cup fans before they head inside the air-conditioned stadium on July 4, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matt Young\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Though the Texas grid withstood record demand<\/a> during Houston\u2019s first triple-digit day of 2026, the scorching heat sent more Houstonians to emergency rooms on July 22 than on any day since widespread power outages left residents defenseless after Hurricane Beryl<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n During last Wednesday\u2019s daily record temperatures<\/a>, 95 people were treated for heat-related illnesses, according to city data \u2013 spiking dramatically after a week that saw between 30 and 45 heat patients each day.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re on an extreme heat advisory<\/a>. The heat index today in our city, Houston, is expected to reach 115, maybe 117,\u201d Mayor John Whitmire said during the city council meeting that morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The city opened over 100 cooling centers<\/a>, and many residents\u00a0heeded the mayor\u2019s warning, keeping out of the sun. But with tens of thousands of Houstonians living without air conditioning<\/a> and many workers required to labor outside, the temperatures still took a heavy toll.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s spike saw the highest number of heat-related cases in the five and a half years of emergency room data collected by the City of Houston, outside of the post-Beryl blackout.<\/p>\n Forecasts suggest the triple-digit heat<\/a> could persist in the coming days, leaving emergency rooms to prepare for impact.<\/p>\n TODAY: Houston could break a 119-year-old heat record<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n According to Dr. Neil Gandhi, the assistant medical director of emergency medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital-TMC, local hospitals are prepared with everything from cooling blankets to chilled IV fluids.\u00a0<\/p>\n So far this summer, \u201cmany individuals in the construction sector and within landscaping have utilized our ERs for elements of heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and in one case, heat stroke. We’ve also seen some of the elderly affected as well,\u201d Gandhi said.<\/p>\n In extreme cases, rapidly lowering a patient\u2019s temperature can be crucial to prevent irreversible damage, and even death.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond the worst days<\/p>\n While Houston\u2019s hottest afternoons can be especially dangerous, Gandhi warned against complacency on summer days that are a little less searing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhen patients come in, it’s not always directly correlated with the exact level of heat,\u201d Gandhi said, suggesting Houstonians may be more likely to stay inside for the worst days.\u00a0<\/p>\n Three days before Houston hit triple-digits, Astros fans and World Cup enthusiasts crowded bustling downtown sidewalks in spite of 95-degree heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still bearable. I feel like if you\u2019re from Houston, you\u2019re OK with it,\u201d said Mario Leal, who stood under a mist machine before the World Cup’s last kickoff at\u00a0FIFA\u2019s open-air Fan Festival<\/a> in East Downtown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Leal thought it was worth braving the heatwave to watch the history-making final between Spain and Argentina on FIFA\u2019s massive screens, and he was not alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n After some fans waited hours to claim spots in East Downtown, the free festival hit capacity before kickoff. First responders from the Houston Fire Department clustered near the lineup to hand out wet towels and bags of ice. They also watched for anyone taken out by the heat \u2013 which, according to fan Rafael Sosa, happened at least once before the gates could open.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cA little after we got here, a young girl passed out. But the EMTs took her to one of their vehicles,\u201d Sosa said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sosa and his wife, who recently migrated to Houston from Belize, came prepared with an umbrella and drinks to keep safe in line.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe heat is brutal,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just have to make sure we stay hydrated, and try to stay in shaded areas.\u201d<\/p>\n FIFA Fan Festival spokeswoman Carla Gomez said there were 76 total emergency room transports from official World Cup festivities in Houston, which drew a total of 1,096,499 participants throughout June and July.<\/p>\n \u201cNot all were necessarily heat-related,\u201d Gomez said, adding that many people who needed help cooling off approached a \u201cstate-of-the-art Mobile Medical Unit within the FIFA Fan Festival Houston.\u201d The festival grounds also had designated water, sunscreen and cool-down stations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The day of the final, Houston\u2019s emergency rooms treated 30 patients for heat-related illnesses overall, a tally which does not include people who got cooling assistance outside of hospitals.<\/p>\n The danger zone<\/p>\n As Houston\u2019s temperatures started to climb in June, city health department director Dr. Theresa Tran took to social media to caution residents to prepare.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the heat index reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit, that\u2019s 40 degrees Celsius, you\u2019re at risk for heat-related illness,\u201d Tran said.<\/p>\n Houston\u2019s heat index, which is how hot the city feels combining temperature and humidity, often lifts the swampy city\u2019s danger levels above what air temperatures suggest.\u00a0<\/p>\n