At least 4 people die as more than 85M Americans swelter under extreme heat advisories

Oppressive heat choked U.S. cities from Boston to Sacramento on Sunday, as more than 85 million Americans broiled under excessive heat advisories issued by the National Weather Service.

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The agency singled out the corridor between Washington and Boston, however, for “extremely oppressive” conditions Sunday as heat waves continued scorching communities from the Pacific Northwest and Great Plains to the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor.

Meanwhile, four deaths have been attributed to the sultry conditions in recent weeks.

The medical examiner’s office in New York City confirmed one person with a host of underlying health conditions died of heat exposure on Saturday, and a 73-year-old man died of heat-related complications Thursday in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA Today reported.

According to CNN, a 66-year-old Dallas woman, who also had underlying health conditions, died last week according to county officials, while a 22-year-old hiker died due to possible dehydration and exposure after running out of water in a South Dakota national park, officials confirmed.

According to the latest national climate assessment by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, heat waves season has increased by more than 40 days since the 1960s for many U.S. cities, NPR reported.

Consider, for instance, organizers’ decision to postpone the Boston Triathlon, originally scheduled for Sunday, until late August, citing the “current historic weather conditions that are impacting Boston,” the news outlet reported.

Although the Northeast is poised for relief, with an approaching cold front expected to lower temperatures beginning Monday night, residents of the Pacific Northwest are prepping for a “prolonged heat wave” expected to peak the latter half of the week, NPR reported.

“Daily record high temps are possible from northern California to the Portland and Seattle metro areas by this coming Tuesday,” the NWS stated.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Extreme heat offers little relief for millions of Americans Rosa Chavez, of New York City, applies sunscreen as she and friend Arlene Rodriguez visit Promised Land State Park, Sunday, July 24, 2022 in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains in Greentown, Pa. Residents around the Northeast braced for potentially record-breaking temperatures Sunday as a nearly weeklong hot spell continued. (AP Photo/Jeff McMillan) (Jeff McMillan/AP)

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