NEW YORK, Aug 1: A heat wave that claimed more than 130 lives in California reached the US east coast on Tuesday, settling over the US capital and forcing New York City to declare a state of emergency for the first time.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed an order for city agencies “to take whatever steps necessary to protect the well-being and safety of city residents in the face of excessive heat” as the city baked under the sun.

Temperatures were expected to climb to 38 C in New York this week while the heat index, which takes moisture readings into account, could reach 43 C, the weather service said.

The mayor’s office urged city residents to conserve on their electricity use to avoid the power outages that paralyzed a part of the borough of Queens last month for more than one week.

Bloomberg’s office said any individual who “knowingly” violates the request to conserve energy — for example by running their air conditioner while no one is at home — could be charged with a misdemeanour.

The city said it was also setting up 383 cooling centres in seniors centres and community facilities across New York’s five boroughs, and ordering its public pools to stay open into the late evening so that New Yorkers could cool off after work.

The rules apply through Friday unless the temperatures suddenly drop.

The temperature in Washington was forecast to top off at 38 C on Wednesday, as city authorities used television announcements to urge people with respiratory problems not to venture outdoors.

In the midwestern city of Chicago, where about 800 died in a 1995 heat wave, several hundred elderly people were evacuated Monday from their buildings when an underground distribution line failed, depriving 20,000 people of electricity and air conditioning.

About 350 of the most fragile evacuees were taken to Chicago hotels, the Chicago Tribune newspaper reported, adding that the number was expected to rise.

In California, where temperatures have cooled since a historic 15-day heat wave, 136 people died from the high temperatures, according to preliminary statistics, many of them elderly.

Three immigrants were also found dead from the heat after having crossed the border illegally from Mexico.—AFP