BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has extended the city’s heat emergency through Monday, keeping cooling centers open for another day following the hottest day of the heat wave so far following record-breaking temperatures and power outages across the city.
The heat emergency first began last Tuesday and had already been extended once before Boston hit 100 degrees Sunday, breaking the previous record of 98 set back in 1933.
“Well I did not sleep. I guess I didn’t realize how much I relied on air conditioning to sleep so I did not have any sleep and that was a little frustrating because I kept looking at the Eversource updates,” said Christine Linnane, who lost power overnight.
Boston EMS reported an uptick in calls with a 15-20% increase in daily calls and more than 400 incidents each day.
Officials are reminding residents to hydrate and check on neighbors and friends.
Entering its sixth day, the heat left many looking for any kind of relief, especially those who found themselves without power in parts of the city Sunday afternoon.
Some 19,000 customers in Dorchester were without power due to equipment failure at one point, according to Eversource. While most were restored by the early evening, the outage still left many without air conditioning as the city hit 100 degrees for the 27th time in 150 years of record-keeping.
“When we lost power it was brutal,” said Jackie Kelleher. “I literally said to my fiance, ‘the hottest day of the year, and we lose power.'”
The outage came after overnight maintenance in Allston left over 800 customers without power, as Eversource worked to ensure future outages would not occur in an area that includes two hospitals.
At Fenway Park Sunday, giant fans were set up across the concourse as people tried to take in a game during the record-breaking heat.
“I’m going to drink 20 waters,” one man told 7NEWS. “No beers, just 20 waters.”
“I think we got eight,” said another person. “(That’ll) make us through an hour.”
Boston EMS officials said they have seen a 15-20% increase in daily calls since the heat wave began, responding to more than 400 a day. At least 80 are believed to be directly related to the heat.
Experts remind anyone out in the heat to drink plenty of water, stay out of the sun whenever possible, check in on relatives and neighbors and take frequent breaks.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)