Overview

• Nearly 160 million people across 29 states from eastern Texas to Maine are under extreme heat alerts with temperatures soaring as much as 20°F above seasonal norms.
• New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C., have recorded or are forecast to reach triple-digit highs, breaking daily and monthly temperature records.
• The National Weather Service has issued level-4 ‘extremely dangerous’ heat warnings and cautioned that overnight lows in the 70s will offer little relief.
• Authorities have urged electricity conservation as power grids approach peak capacity, opened hundreds of cooling centers and opened fire hydrants in hot spots.
• Scientists say the persistent upper-atmosphere heat dome is tied to human-driven climate change and that a cold front late Thursday will finally ease the heat.