24 Jul 2011

Record temperatures continue in North America

10:00 am on 24 July 2011

Record temperatures have been recorded in eastern parts of the United States and Canada.

The mercury in Newark, New Jersey, reached 108F (42C) on Friday.

The BBC reports bathers at public swimming pools in Philadelphia were asked to leave every half hour to allow a new crowd to enjoy a cooling dip. Temperatures were 40C (104F).

Airports near Washington and Baltimore hit 40.5C (105F); Boston 39.5C (103F); Portland, Maine, and Concord, New Hampshire, 38.5C (101F); and Providence, Rhode Island, 38C (100F).

At least 22 deaths have been blamed on the heat.

In the south, more than three-quarters of Texas is suffering from drought amid the worst dry spell in the state for decades.

An extreme heat alert remains in effect in Canada.

Temperature records were broken in two dozen cities across Ontario and Quebec on Thursday, including the hottest ever July temperature in Toronto, at 37.9C (100.2F).