Steenrod operations for $4$-dimensional toric orbifolds

We prove necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of non-trivial Steenrod actions on the mod-$2$ cohomology of 4-dimensional toric orbifolds. As applications, the stable homotopy type and the gauge groups of a $4$-dimensional toric orbifold are determined, a partial solution to the cohomological rigidity problem for $4$-dimensional toric orbifolds is provided, and, in the smooth case, a combinatorial criterion is established for when the toric orbifold is spin.