Several cities in the Northeast saw record-high daily temperatures on Sunday as a nationwide scorching peaked in many places around the United States.
As of 3 p.m., the temperature in Newark had hit 101 degrees, exceeding the previous daily record for July 24 of 99 degrees, set in 2010, according to the National Weather Service. It was the fifth consecutive day of temperatures at or above 100 degrees in the city.
In Boston, it was 100 degrees, surpassing the previous record of 98 degrees, set in 1933. New York City, which confirmed a heat-related death on Saturday, did not exceed its previous July 24 record of 97 degrees as of Sunday afternoon.
Other cities that exceeded their daily records included Providence, R.I., which had a high of 97 degrees, beating its previous high for the day of 94 degrees, set in 1987; and Reading, Pa., which registered a temperature of 97 degrees, according to the Weather Service.
Officials across the country braced for the high temperatures as a heat wave extended for several days. Athletes who had trained for months would not get to compete in the Boston Triathlon, which was postponed for the heat, or would compete for a shorter time in the New York City Triathlon. Cooling centers were open in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia. Americans tried to beat the heat safely on beaches, in libraries and indoors, as heat-related deaths were reported or suspected in New York, Arizona, Texas, South Dakota and Missouri.
About 71 million people across the country were in areas with dangerous levels of heat on Sunday, meaning they registered a heat index of at least 103 degrees. The heat index is a measure of how hot it feels outside, taking into account humidity and temperature. Large sections of the Midwest, including Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, faced such levels of heat, along with areas from Southern California to the coast of North Carolina.
Temperatures on Monday are expected to be nearly as high as they were on Sunday, but the heat should moderate in the Northeast and other parts of the country, Richard Bann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said.
“It’s Tuesday by the time we get a push of cooler air into the Northeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic,” he said.
Late on Saturday, New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed a heat-related death with contributing factors listed as hypertensive cardiovascular disease and emphysema. No other information about the death — including location, time…
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