Perilous
Times and Climate Change
At least 25 dead as Massive heat wave spreads across United
States
By Barbara Goldberg | Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crowds flocked to waterfronts and swimming
pools on the U.S. East Coast and in the Midwest on Thursday to try
to cope with a massive heat wave that has killed at least 25
people this week.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for
wide areas of the central and eastern United States, saying the
combined heat and humidity could push the "real feel" temperature
to 115 Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) through Saturday.
By Thursday afternoon in New York City, the thermometer hit 91F
(33C) but it felt more like 112F (44C), according to
AccuWeather.com.
With the promise of refreshing ocean breezes, Boston's
whale-watching ships and high-speed tourist boats sold out their
trips by mid-morning.
Cooling centres in Richmond, Virginia, and New York City welcomed
overheated residents and a truck labelled "Water Fountain on the
Go" cruised Manhattan streets, offering to refill water bottles to
keep residents hydrated.
Electricity utility Con Edison said scattered outages were likely
in New York in coming days with demand expected to hit all-time
highs.
Unhealthy smog levels triggered by the heat were reported in
Chicago, where residents were asked by the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency to reduce polluting activities such as idling
vehicles and mowing lawns.
By the weekend, the heat wave is expected to cover half of the
United States and affect nearly half of its 310 million people,
AccuWeather.com forecaster Mary Yoon said.
"What makes this heat wave so impressive is the pure size and
longevity," said Yoon.
'DANGEROUS HEALTH RISK'
Longstanding records in Philadelphia and other cities may melt
away by Friday, when temperatures are expected to spike. The low
pressure system that barrelled east was expected to bring powerful
thunderstorms with hail to northeastern states.
"Do not take this threat lightly," the National Weather Service
warned on its website, noting the extreme temperatures are
particularly dangerous for the elderly and the very young.
"The length of this heat wave will pose a very real and dangerous
health risk to these at-risk groups and those that do not have
access to air conditioning."
In the central United States, where the high temperatures have
killed nearly two dozen people, more deaths were tied to the heat.
An elderly woman whose body was found in her bedroom in St. Louis,
where a working air conditioner had not been turned on despite 99F
(37C) temperatures, was determined on Wednesday to have died of
heat stroke.
Similar causes of death were reported on Thursday in Kansas City,
Missouri, where a woman in her early 80s died, and in Hutchinson,
Kansas, where three elderly people were found dead in separate
homes on Wednesday.
Of the people who died in Hutchinson, one had a ceiling fan and
another, a 76-year-old man, had an air conditioner.
"He had an air-conditioning unit in the window but didn't use it
because he didn't want to pay the electric bill," said Hutchinson
Police Sergeant Thad Pickard.
(Additional reporting by Bruce Olson, Lauren Keiper, Kevin Murphy,
Karin Matz and Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Jerry Norton and John
O'Callaghan)