Scorching heat wave bakes US as heat index soars past 30 degrees Celsius

US city officials and forecasters are urging people to stay out of the hot weather as it has the potential to cause heat-related illnesses.

Tens of millions of Americans were confronted with a one-two punch of brutally hot temperatures and oppressive humidity on Friday as an unrelenting heat wave settled over the Midwest and East Coast and was expected to persist into the weekend.