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)

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)

The Mad Hatter's tea party, a scene from a theatre production of “Alice In Wonderland”. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1910

A visitor walks past an installation artwork entitled “Confuciuse” which combines the word “Confucius” and “confuse” in the contemporary art exhibition at “Fun and Art” Festival on December 13, 2008 in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Demonstrators dance around a burning an effigy of the Russian President Vladimir Putin during an anti-war action in Tbilisi, Georgia, Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

Samburu women of the Lorubai traditional dance group are seen wearing traditional beaded necklaces during a Peace Marathon for pastoralist communities at the Archers post in Isiolo, Kenya on April 26, 2018. The aim of the event is to bring the warring pastoralist communities of Samburu, Turkana, Borana and others together, and end the rivalry due to scarcity of pasture and water in the region. The peace marathon is organized by Kenya's Northern Rangeland Trust. (Photo by Simon Maina/AFP Photo)

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)