https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/1026989502/much-of-the-u-s-to-bake-under-stifling-heat-before-expected-relief-this-weekend

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Updated August 12, 202112:43 PM ET

JACLYN DIAZ

Children cool off in a misting pool at a park in Queens, N.Y., as temperatures reach into the 90s and with a heat index of over 100 degrees on Thursday.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Some195 million Americans— out of a population of more than 330 million — are facing dangerously high temperatures, as much of the mainland U.S.is under excessive heat advisories beginning Thursdayand expected to last until the weekend.

Before relief arrives, temperatures are rise to levels that feel hotter than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, warns the National Weather Service.

Just last month, a heat wave around the Portland, Ore., area and in Canada was blamed for the death of hundreds of people. This time around the oppressive heat will not onlyexacerbate drought conditions and wildfires on the West Coast, but will…