A major new report from the European Society of Cardiology sets out how health services need to protect vulnerable patients during heatwaves. It details the need for hospital surge capacity during heatwaves, proactive home healthcare to monitor patients and provide cooling resources – such as fans, suitable storage for medication and watching out for signs of dehydration and overhydration in vulnerable patients.

Researchers tracked air pollution at 15 monitoring sites across New York City during the first year of the country’s first congestion pricing program.

Fine particulate pollution inside the congestion zone fell about 13 percent beyond what regional trends, weather and year-to-year variability would predict.

The decline closely matched the roughly 11 percent drop in vehicles entering the zone, though pollution had already been falling citywide for other reasons.

Nitrogen dioxide dropped more than 20 percent across the metro area, but the study could not attribute that regional decline to congestion pricing.