Scorching temperatures swept the Northeast Sunday in the region’s first extended heat wave of the summer, with a record five straight days of triple-digit temperatures in Newark and sweltering heat in Boston; Providence, RI; and Manchester, NH
Other parts of the country have also suffered, with Oklahoma enduring temperatures that have topped 100 degrees on nine of the past 11 days.
The baking heat underscored the disconcerting reality that such dangerous temperatures are becoming the summer norm in the United States and elsewhere, with heat waves, wildfires and droughts disrupting daily life around the world.
Heat waves in the United States increased from an average of two per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2010s. The past seven years have been the warmest in the history of accurate records across the world
The northeast heatwave, which hit some of the country’s most densely populated corridors, sent residents scrambling for relief. In New York City, temperatures stayed just shy of record highs Sunday afternoon, reaching 94 in Central Park, as lines formed at city pools, despite many braving to the shortage of rescuers.
William Jimenez, 59, took his 13-year-old son to the Crotona Park pool in the Bronx earlier in the day, knowing the place would be raided later.
“The weather is getting hotter,” he said. “It’s best to be in the pool and the park.”
Elsewhere in the Bronx, many streets turned into asphalt water parks, thanks to open hydrants spilling onto sidewalks. In several places, wooden planks were spread in the street so that people could avoid the small rivers.
Tina Hernandez, 24, and her 12-year-old stepdaughter laughed as they threw water at each other from an open fire hydrant on Monroe Avenue.
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“It’s definitely been crazy,” Ms. Hernandez said. “The house is the hottest part of the summer. We’ve been trying to run in the sprinklers. It’s been hard to keep calm.”
In Newark, the temperature reached 102 degrees, a record for the date and the fifth day of readings above 100 degrees, the longest streak on record for the city. Providence reached 98 degrees, breaking its previous record of 94 in 1987, and Boston reached a sweltering 100 degrees, breaking its previous record of 98 in 1933. Philadelphia hit 99 degrees, breaking its 2011 record of 98 , and Manchester, NH, recorded a temperature of 97, surpassing its previous high of 95 on the day.
From Boston to Philadelphia via St. Louis, major cities declared heat emergencies and advisories that lasted throughout the weekend, some activating services to keep residents cool, such as opening libraries as cooling centers. In notoriously swampy Washington, D.C., where temperatures hovered in the 90s, officials extended the hours of some of the city’s pools, and Kansas City, Mo., posted advice on Twitter for residents to prevent the heat from damaging the foundations of their houses.
Philadelphia, which declared a heat emergency as of Thursday, halted a plan to shut off water to customers with delinquent bills, citing the heat wave.
Terry Greene, 62, said he used to enjoy the Washington, D.C., heat, but has come to appreciate the air conditioning at the church where he works as a maintenance worker.
“If I’m going to work outside, I just prepare for it. I know I have to come early in the morning,” Mr. Greene said.
Further south, Jesse Williams, 40, was preparing for a long shift in front of a 600-degree oven at Memphis Pizza Cafe in Memphis, Tenn., where the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory. Temperatures were expected to reach 100 degrees.
“If I didn’t have that little shop fan blowing on me, I’d probably get heat stroke,” said Mr. Williams.
In Boston, race organizers postponed the city’s annual triathlon. In New York, organizers shortened a similar race to account for the temperatures; the water temperature soared to 80 degrees as the race began around dawn.
In Philadelphia, utility PECO implemented strategies for customers to save electricity, such as washing clothes in cold water and installing window coverings. In New York, Con Edison spokesman Allan Drury said this week represented the peak demand for electricity all summer. Since Monday, there have been more than 28,400 scattered power outages in the New York area, mostly concentrated in Westchester and the Bronx, Drury said.
“I’m 53 years old and I don’t remember it ever being this hot,” said Lonnie Coleman, a retired Philadelphia school district employee who relaxed on the Schuylkill Sunday morning, hoping to beat the heat of the afternoon
Elsewhere in Philadelphia, children, dogs and a few adults splashed in the shallow waters of the Logan Square fountain.
Laura McSloy, a food service worker for the Brewerytown section, was sitting in the fountain pool.
“It’s so hot it made me feel bad for the dog,” Ms McSloy, 47, said.
Temperatures further north-east also soared. Outside Tulsa, Okla., Charley Pearson, 63, said the prolonged heat had been difficult for the small volunteer fire department he heads. He described a man who had collapsed outside his home with heart problems.
“The man was out in the sun, there was no shade to be found, so here we are outside pumping our chests in 104 or 105 degree weather,” he said.
In downtown Oklahoma City, where temperatures soared to 96 degrees by early afternoon, children played in the water fountain at Scissortail Park, laughing and splashing. But the function wasn’t just for gaming: it’s the last source of drinking for some of the city’s homeless. Brian Brust, 52 and recently homeless, said that was one of the first lessons he learned when he started living on the streets.
“People tell me it’s the place to go,” Mr. Brust. “It’s hard to find water in the streets.”
He waited in the shadows of the Ronald J. Norick Center library with many other homeless people around noon. It’s one of 75 designated cooling centers in the state, but it didn’t open until 1 p.m.
Sunday’s crippling heat descended as pockets of the country already struggled to manage a wave of heat-related emergencies, including crippling drought in the Southwest and a very active wildfire season in New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Oak Fire near Yosemite National Park has burned more than 14,000 square acres.
Next week, an equally scorching heat wave is expected to sweep parts of the Northwest, with cities like Seattle expected to face temperatures in excess of 100 degrees.
In the Bronx, Wanda Rosser, 58, and Yvonne Miles, 62, friends for more than 40 years, sat in the shade outside the New York City Housing Authority’s Butler Houses development sunday afternoon
They had different reactions to the heat.
“I’m a summer baby,” said Mrs. Rosser. “Just enjoy it!”
But Ms Miles said she struggled with asthma in the hot weather.
Still, he said, “You have to live. It’s Mother Nature.”
Reporting was contributed by Adam Bednar, Téa Kvetenadze, Jon Hurdle, Luke Vander Ploeg, Ben Fenwick, Alex Traub and April Rubin.