US Midwest, East Hit by Heat Wave

A blistering heat wave sweeps the US Midwest and East on Saturday and Sunday, when temperatures and humidity levels are expected to reach well above normal.

Tens of millions of Americans are under heat warnings, watches and advisories as temperatures reach above 37 degrees Celsius in major cities such as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, the National Weather Service said.

“The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity combine to create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are likely,” the service said in a warning for Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, Reuters reported.

The hot weather is especially dangerous for young children, elderly people and people with health problems, it said. Cities across the region, from the Mississippi River to the East Coast, have set up cooling centers to keep people out of the dangerous heat.

Philadelphia officials warned residents on Twitter not to use fire hydrants, but to go to the city’s more than 70 spraygrounds and pools to cool off. The hot weather had already forced the cancellation of Fourth of July firework shows in several Ohio cities along with a basketball event in Toledo, Ohio, and a concert held by a school district in Minnesota.

In addition to the heat wave, the National Weather Service warned communities in drought-stricken parts of Colorado and northern California of prime wildfire weather as hot, arid and windy conditions will persist over the weekend.