Standing on a subway platform without air-conditioning on a 95-degree day is miserable no matter where you do it. But reporters at WNYC decided to quantify that discomfort by recording the temperatures of 103 subway stations during rush hour on Wednesday, one of the hottest days of the year.
According to the journalists’ measurements, the most unbearable subway station is Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall, specifically the 4/5/6 platform, which registered just shy of 107 degrees. Some of the other worst places to wait for a train are at the World Trade Center E-train station (101 degrees), and the Eighth Avenue L-train platform (99 degrees). WNYC suggests these stations are particularly bad because they’re terminal stops, so trains wait in the station, pumping out exhaust fumes.
By contrast, stops that are deep underground are actually pretty chilly. If you’re in midtown and desperate to cool down, consider standing on the platform at the Fifth Avenue–59th Street station, which topped out at a comfortable 68 degrees.
Reporters surveyed stations below Central Park and a smattering in Brooklyn and Queens, so they probably missed a lot of saunalike stations uptown and in the Bronx. Here’s a map of WNYC’s project:
