Brutal heat coming to New York City could threaten the record books
New York’s sweltering summer is about to get worse with historic heat on the horizon for the city.
A brutal stretch of scorching temperatures begins Tuesday with no immediate relief in sight as every day this week is projected to exceed 90 degrees — a streak that could continue into next week and threaten the safety of New Yorkers, Fox Weather meteorologist Amy Freeze told the Daily News.
“I can’t emphasize enough that, yes, it’s supposed to be hot during the summer, but it’s the consecutive 90-degree days that make it really hard for our body to handle,” Freeze said. “If you don’t have air conditioning, you don’t have a lot of time to cool off in the evening hours, because our temperatures don’t drop as dramatically in the summer.”
People cool down at a fountain on Washington Square Park in New York, on July 19, 2019. (TIMOTHY CLARY/)
Eight consecutive days of 90-degree weather or higher would account for one of the 10 hottest stretches in the history of New York City.
The city’s record of 12 consecutive 90-degree days was set during the summer of 1953. The two most recent streaks of at least eight days at 90 degrees in New York both occurred in 2002.
Thursday will likely be the hottest day of the upcoming heat wave with a high of 97, but Friday could feel even hotter without any cloud covering in the forecast, Freeze said.
The high temperatures mixed with humidity figures to cause some sweaty and uncomfortable days in the city — especially for commuters.
“Once we get a heat wave like this, the hardest part for New Yorkers, I think, is always the subways,” Freeze said.
People sit in a hammock as they visit the beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn on July 19, 2020 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/)
“Some of these platforms are just so incredibly hot in the summer. They have limited ventilation. Even when subway cars have [air conditioning], just waiting for your train can be oppressive, and we’ve seen dangerous situations in the past where people pass out from the heat, heat exhaustion, those kinds of things.”
The sizzling heat is expected to torch the entire tristate area as July temperatures spike in most of the United States.
Freeze warned that temperatures in the five boroughs will still hover around 80 degrees at night during the hot stretch.
Ally Rogers, 5, plays in the spray from a fire hydrant with her father Allen, Tuesday, July 28, 2020 in New York. (Mark Lennihan/)
“You really, over the next week, have got to find a way to get access to air conditioning at some point during the day,” Freeze said. “Whether it’s going to the cooling centers, going to the mall, getting to the movie theater, even adjusting your work schedule so you’re going in and leaving earlier in the afternoon so you don’t have to spend all day outdoors or all day exposed to the temperatures, is really critical.”
To provide some relief, the Salvation Army is opening eight cooling centers in several neighborhoods like Tremont in the Bronx and Times Square until Thursday.
”This week’s crushing heat wave is nothing short of an emergency for thousands of New Yorkers, particularly seniors who don’t have access to air conditioning and may be unable to leave their apartments,” the organization said.
