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)

Sri Lankan military personnel march during the country's 66th Independence Day celebrations in the central town of Kegalle, about 40 kms from the capital Colombo on February 4, 2014. Sri Lanka cemmemorates its independence from British rule on February 4, 1948. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

A hot air balloon flies close to the ground in the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel during an international hot air balloon festival October 14, 2014. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

A young boy scoops water from a hand-dug well in the dry riverbed near Matinyani, in the semi-arid Kitui County in southeastern Kenya, 22 March 2015, the World Water Day. Residents of Kitui County and other arid and semi-arid areas of the country have been hard-hit by extremely poor rainfall this year while the government said in previous month that some 1.6 million people countrywide are facing acute starvation due to the drought and will need relief food over the next six months. Residents of Matinyani say they haven't seen a drop of rain in nearly four months. Thousands of Kenyans in rural areas walk tens of kilometers just to fetch water to drink and to be used in their homes. According to an estimate by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), 17 million people lack access to safe water in Kenya, where the drought is a perennial problem. (Photo by Dai Kurokawa/EPA)

Jenifer Lopez, 12, watches television at her home in Havana January 9, 2015. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

Vendors sell clothes on the roadside at a second-hand street side clothing market in Mumbai January 28, 2015. The market is open daily for three hours and hundreds of vendors gather to barter or sell used clothing. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Two young boys kneel on stools on either side of a round table as one uses a match to this the other's cigarette, November 12, 1928. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)

Fan Bing Bing, Concha de Plata (Silver Shell) award winnerfor best actress for the feature film “I Am Not Madame Bovary” speaks on her telephone during the awards ceremony at the San Sebastian Film Festival, September 24, 2016, in San Sebastian, northern Spain. (Photo by Vincent West/Reuters)