Heat Advisory Takes Effect As Triple Digit Temperatures Return
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The heat and humidity are back, and it's just the beginning.
As CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reports, Wednesday is the first of what's expected to be a three-day heat wave.
In Hoboken, New Jersey, feels-like temperatures reached 105 degrees.
The sweltering August sunshine broiled the earth, bouncing off excess moisture in the atmosphere and creating a thick haze around the city. It also brightened the horizon to the tipping point; shades were necessary.
"I love the sun, but when you work in it... I don't want to work in it, though," Long Island City resident Quan Pelt said.
That's exactly what he was stuck doing Wednesday, though. Opening the refrigerated hold on his truck, however, offered serious refreshment.
"That's the best part of the day. It's the best part of the day. Get to feel some cool air," he said.
Whether playing in refreshing fountains or sailing open waters, being in or near the water will make a huge difference in how hot it feels.
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Believe it or not, before the noon hour, strolling along the mighty Hudson in Hoboken in shade can be refreshing, thanks to the breeze. Work out on the same stretch, and the sweat pours.
"I guess it's nice in a way, people get outside early in the day, try to stay home midday," Hoboken resident Michael Nunez told Murdock.
The new dad says he's not looking forward to the heat wave, especially with a baby at home.
"'Cause I can't take the baby out really too much," he said.
"It's tough, it's hot. It's tough for my dog, but he'll go over to that fountain in a couple minutes and cool off," resident Robert Forman said.
"Very hot, a lot of humidity," another man added.
High humidity will result in dangerously hot conditions through Friday, with Thursday expected to feel the hottest.
"In terms of global warming, I'd say it's quite bad. I mean, the weather has been getting more and more intense," Hoboken resident Hope Koturo said.
"There's no question that our summers are getting warmer in the New York Metropolitan area," said Dr. Dave Robinson, New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University.
He has the numbers to back it up.
"By how much have we increased the average?" Murdock asked.
"The summer months consistently a half a degree to a degree warmer," Robinson said.
Jason Smerdon, a climate scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, says we're going in the wrong direction.
"The number of heat waves we're experiencing now will continue to increase with increasing greenhouse gas emissions,"' he said.
He urges we can't forget "heat waves beget droughts, beget fires."
"All of these things are connected," he added.
Robinson also said it's not just temperatures on the rise, it's also moisture levels in the atmosphere. That means as we move forward, we will also be experiencing a soupier atmosphere, so it won't just be hot, it will be more humid and more oppressive in the years ahead.
