NEW YORK - A potentially deadly heatwave struck parts of the eastern United States yesterday with the mercury threatening to top 38C, but power grid operators were confident the increased demand could be handled.
The heatwave is moving across the country from California, which suffered through more than two weeks of temperatures over 38C that killed at least 136 people and caused power failures.
Meteorologists forecast 38C temperatures for New York, Philadelphia and Washington today. Residents of Detroit, St Louis and Chicago were sweating it out in equally stifling temperatures.
"It is miserably hot outside and hard on everyone," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters.
"This is a very dangerous heatwave.
"It's really more than just uncomfortable: it can seriously threaten your lives."
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings and said the heat index - how hot it feels when the humidity is combined with the air temperature - would hit 46C in New York, the hottest since July 1999.
- REUTERS
US heatwave on cross-country trek
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
