Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this week's On The Way, "All Things Considered" host Sean Carlson, and WNYC's transit team discuss something many New Yorkers are familiar with: How New York City's subway system turns into a sauna in the summertime.
And there’s no better place for commuters to schvitz than the Union Square station, which is notoriously the hottest in the entire system.
The station, which serves eight subway lines and is one of the busiest in the city, is reliably hotter than it is above ground. Gothamist clocked sweltering 92-degree temperatures on the station’s mezzanine Tuesday morning, when it was 80 degrees outside.
Meanwhile, temperatures reached a steamy 98 degrees on the platform, where waiting riders were blanketed in hot air as a 5 train pulled into the station.
For more On The Way, and to ask us your own burning questions about the NYC transit system, subscribe to our weekly newsletter:
bit.ly/4evpHmz
Read past editions of On The Way at bit.ly/3JT2qjJ
Video produced by Daniel Shapiro and Dana Binfet
In this week's On The Way, "All Things Considered" host Sean Carlson, and WNYC's transit team discuss something many New Yorkers are familiar with: How New York City's subway system turns into a sauna in the summertime.
And there’s no better place for commuters to schvitz than the Union Square station, which is notoriously the hottest in the entire system.
The station, which serves eight subway lines and is one of the busiest in the city, is reliably hotter than it is above ground. Gothamist clocked sweltering 92-degree temperatures on the station’s mezzanine Tuesday morning, when it was 80 degrees outside.
Meanwhile, temperatures reached a steamy 98 degrees on the platform, where waiting riders were blanketed in hot air as a 5 train pulled into the station.
For more On The Way, and to ask us your own burning questions about the NYC transit system, subscribe to our weekly newsletter:
bit.ly/4evpHmz
Read past editions of On The Way at bit.ly/3JT2qjJ
Video produced by Daniel Shapiro and Dana Binfet
