The US Department of Energy reportedly deleted around 6,000 web pages related to energy conservation as a historic heatwave swept across the country. This deletion came suspiciously after Republicans were upset with Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plea for New Yorkers to keep their air conditioning set at 78 degrees to ease strain on the grid.

It's worth noting that setting your thermostat to between 75 and 78 degrees is standard advice during a heatwave. Republican governors, including current Texas Governor Greg Abbott, have issued similar guidance in the past. These measures can prevent blackouts and save lives—extreme heat causes more US deaths than floods, tornadoes or hurricanes combined.

The deletions were broad and removed not only pages supporting Mamdani’s advice but also those on water conservation, insulation types, and solar decathlon challenges. The Internet Archive has preserved the deleted content, raising questions about the administration's priorities during a heatwave.

Republican backlash centres around the idea that such measures are socialist and an attack on women in menopause—despite these being common sense suggestions to save lives during extreme temperatures.