The White House press briefing on Tuesday experienced a brief interruption due to a medical emergency.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre paused the session when a person declared, “We have an emergency!” She quickly left the podium to assist after someone appeared to have passed out from the heat.
“Hold on, did somebody pass out?” Jean-Pierre asked as White House medical staff attended to the individual. After a few minutes, Jean-Pierre returned to the podium, ensuring the person received medical attention. “Sorry about that. Hopefully she’s okay,” she said. A reporter commented on the heat, to which Jean-Pierre responded, “You are correct. It is hot in here.” Before resuming questions, she checked if anyone needed water.
Temperatures in Washington, D.C., reached a high of 92 degrees on Tuesday, feeling closer to 98 with humidity. The sweltering temperatures are part of a heatwave affecting tens of millions of people in the Midwest and Northeast this week.
A massive high-pressure system has settled over the East Coast, pushing temperatures in the nation’s capital, New York City, and Boston into the 90s. The heatwave is expected to persist through the week, with temperatures in D.C. predicted to reach 100 degrees or higher by the weekend, possibly prompting a heat advisory.
Currently, over 76 million people are under heat alerts spanning from Iowa in the Midwest to the Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley into the Northeast and New England. Cities under heat advisories include Davenport in Iowa; Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati in Ohio; Buffalo and Binghamton in New York; Newark in New Jersey; Providence in Rhode Island; and Boston.
Northern New England areas, including Vermont, central and southern New Hampshire, and central Maine, are also under heat advisories. Excessive heat warnings have been issued for Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Fort Wayne in Indiana, while excessive heat watches cover the Philadelphia area, western Massachusetts, central Connecticut, and parts of New England from eastern Massachusetts to southern Maine.
Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Caribou, Maine, experienced temperatures ranging from the high 80s to the 90s on Tuesday. New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised residents to utilize cooling centers throughout the city to “beat the heat.”
The extreme temperatures have led to widespread concern, with local governments urging citizens to take precautions and stay hydrated.
