East Coast to get relief from heat, not humidity

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BNP standing committee member Goyeshar Chandra Roy speaking at a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the city Friday. — Focus Bangla Photos

NEW YORK, July 8 (AP): After four days of a steamy heat wave swamped much of the Eastern Seaboard, the likelihood of just 80- or 90-degree weather was sounding downright delectable.
The National Weather Service was forecasting less brutal heat throughout the region Thursday, though it still was likely to be uncomfortably humid. The temperature was expected to dip overnight in New York but remain about 80 degrees in urban areas.
Heat waves are more oppressive in big cities because concrete, asphalt and steel absorb more solar energy during the day and are slow to release it after the sun goes down, offering people little relief at night.
On Wednesday, with triple-digit highs recorded from New York to Charlotte, N.C., roads buckled, nursing homes with air-conditioning problems were forced to evacuate and utilities called for conservation as the electrical grid neared its capacity.
In the nation's biggest city, Wall Streeters sweltered in business suits on subway platforms and senior citizens schlepped to grocery stores on streets that seemed like frying pans. The mercury hit 100 degrees by 3 p.m. Wednesday after topping out at 103 Tuesday.