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)

Runners rest inside Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, April 14, 2013. North Korea hosted the 26th Mangyongdae Prize Marathon to mark the upcoming April 15, 2013 birthday of the late leader Kim Il Sung. (Photo by Alexander F. Yuan/AP Photo)

A woman poses as she has her picture taken amid 1600 panda bear sculptures in Berlin August 5, 2013. Marking the 50th anniversary of its existence, on Monday the German branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) environmental conservation organisation placed 1600 panda bear sculptures on front of Berlin's main train station to draw attention to the plight of the endangered species that serves as the NGO's mascot. There are currently 1600 panda bears alive in the wild, the organisation said in a press release. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Masked participants stand in St.Mark's Square during the Carnival on February 10, 2007 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro). P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.

In this photo illustration a plastic carrier bag is blown along the road by the wind on March 4, 2008 in Birmingham, England. (Photo illustration by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Lamas dance during the “Tiaoqian” praying ceremony at the Youning Temple on February 8, 2009 in Huzhu County of Qinghai Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Promotional staff dressed in outfits of animation characters use a mobile phone at the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) 2015 in Beijing, China, April 28, 2015. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Beachgoers are hit by a wave in La Libertad May 3, 2015. El Salvador emergency authorities declared a green alert along the pacific coats due to a large swell that affected the Salvadoran coast and originated from the extra-tropical storms that formed in New Zealand and the Southern hemisphere, according to El Salvador's ministry of environment and natural resources. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)