The northeastern United States sweltered this week in a scorching summer heat wave, complete with stagnant, sticky air and no winds for relief, forecasters said. Even in a summer already filled with stretches of very hot weather, this week will be stubbornly brutal, with no relief in sight until the weekend brings thunderstorms to the region, they said. "Plain and simple, this week may feel the worst of any week for this summer in the Northeast," said Accuweather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. (Reuters)

Two young dancers take pictures while waiting for the start of the Koenji Awa-Odori dance festival, in the Koenji neighborhood of Tokyo. Saturday, August 24, 2019, Started in the 1950s, the Koenji Awa-Odori has grown to be one of Tokyo's largest and most popular summer festivals an estimated 10,000 dancers participating in the dance festival. Hundreds of thousands of spectators gather in the neighborhood to watch the two-day summer spectacle. The event is held on the last weekend of August each year. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Senegalese wrestlers cover themselves in sand as they prepare to start their training program in Petit Mbao on March 29, 2021. As Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, wrestlers now start prepare themselves for the start of wrestling tournaments. Senegalese wrestling, which has its roots in the ceremonies celebrating the end of harvests in Serer and Diola ethnic groups and remains surrounded by a thick cloud of mystical practice, is still extremely popular in this West African country. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

From Tibetan monks playing basket ball with ice thawing high up in the Himalayas, to the pollution that hides behind the Taj Mahal, here’s pick from 60 exceptional environmental photographs, by photographers and filmmakers from 70 countries, that will go on show at the Royal Geographical Society in London from 29 June to 21 August. The winners will be announced on 28 June. Here: Gravel Workmen of Chittagong, Bangladesh, by Faisal Azim. Gravel workmen look through a glass window at a gravel-crushing yard in Chittagong. Full of dust and sand, it is an extremely unhealthy environment for working, but still hundreds of people work here for their livelihoods. (Photo by Faisal Azim/2016 Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year)

A dune buggy driver trains before competing in a sand dune drag racing event on January 8, 2016, as part of the Liwa 2016 Moreeb Dune Festival in the Liwa desert, some 250 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi. The festival, which attracts participants from around the Gulf region, includes a variety of races (cars, bikes, falcons, camels and horses) or other activities aimed at promoting the country's folklore. (Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP Photo)

American model and actress Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski attends the Jacquemus Spring Summer 2020 show on June 24, 2019 in Valensole, France. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)

Julien MacDonald and Izabel Goulart backstage at Julien Macdonald presents Julien x Gabriela show during Spring Summer 2020 London Fashion Week in London, United Kingdom on September 16, 2019. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

A view of trees shrouded in fog on a late summer morning between Tureby and Slimminge on Zealand, Denmark, 10 September 2021. (Photo by Mads Claus Rasmussen/EPA/EFE)