New York City subway riders are trying to keep cool amid the extreme heart, where sweltering temperatures can make it downright unbearable to wait for the next train.
In Central Park, temperatures tied a record of 96, but that’s before the “feels like” temperature, or heat index, combined with the relative humidity.
Platform temperatures can reach about 100 degrees not including the heat index, according to data from the Regional Plan Association. Among the reasons for that, according to the RPA, is the enormous amount of heat the trains themselves generate when they brake and accelerate, as well as the air conditioning in the cars pumping hot air out into the system.
“It’s just very hot. You can’t really breathe down here, to be honest with you,” one commuter said…