Even the odors of New York City were affected by yesterday’s heat.

Many people on the streets of Manhattan were battling not just the searing temperatures, but the signature pungency that accompanies such weather.

“You definitely notice the smell,” a 25-year-old construction worker on Duane Street in TriBeCa, Sam Beattey, said. “It’s muggy and it seems like the trash is just there. Today it was like there wasn’t any fresh air because it was so hot.”

Several blocks to the east, in Chinatown, fish markets spilled onto the sidewalks and the smell of steaming seafood filled entire blocks. Flies buzzed around buckets of fish, and those caught downwind of crates of dried shrimp, squid, and clams could be seen grimacing.

An employee in the city’s Department of Records and Information Services, Kenneth Cobb, said he made it only a third of the way over the Brooklyn Bridge during his morning commute before he turned back because of the heat and took the subway.

“It takes a few days of heat,” he said, standing near some streetside garbage. “A few more days of this and you’ll probably get some real smell.”

In parts of the New York City region, historic heat records were toppled as temperatures climbed throughout most of the day, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures at La Guardia Airport topped off at 99 degrees, beating the record of 95 degrees set in 1984, while John F. Kennedy International Airport reached a high of 95 degrees, one shy of the record, which was set in 1933. Central Park reached a high of 96 degrees — one degree short of the record that was also set in 1933.

The National Weather Service is forecasting highs of 96 degrees today, with thunderstorms expected to provide some respite in the afternoon. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for sun and a high of about 85.

The city’s Department of Emergency Management said heat-related emergency room visits on Saturday and Sunday were about five times higher than expected for this time of year.

The department said more than 7,000 New Yorkers had already visited one of the 300 cooling centers set up throughout all five boroughs.

Mayor Bloomberg urged caution, calling on citizens to consume ample water and to check in on their elderly friends and family members.

“If you feel in the least bit in need of cooling, just call 311 and we will make sure you find a place,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “If we have to find someone to take you there, we will. You can rest assured we won’t let anybody lose their lives.”

The heat wave, which is expected to last at least through the early part of today and break by tomorrow, left thousands of residents across the five boroughs without electricity over the last 48 hours.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Consolidated Edison Corp., Robert McGee, said a total of 2,000 customers went without electricity for varying amounts of time between Sunday night and yesterday afternoon.

Electricity usage in the city peaked at 12,684 megawatts, which fell short of the record of 13,141 megawatts, set August 2, 2006.

Mr. McGee said he was confident Con Ed had sufficient megawattage allocated to get the city through future heat waves.

“The records are coming fast and furious,” he said. “But on balance we think system wide we performed pretty well today.”

City Council Member Eric Gioia, whose district was hit with an extended power outage, two years ago said any outages were unacceptable.

“We have learned the hard way that when it gets hot, despite some of the highest rates in the country, Con Ed fails to do its job the way it is supposed to,” he said.

Persistent disruptions affected service on the F and G subway lines, but according to an announcement issued by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority service had returned to normal by late afternoon.