United States: More than 80 million people under alerts for sweltering heat wave

More than 80 million people were this Sunday, July 16, under official warnings or forecasts of excessive heat waves in the western, southern and southeastern states of USAhit in some cases by record temperatures.

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The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Sunday about “a widespread sweltering heat wave” across much of the west to southeasttemperatures that will continue until next week and increase the risks to the health of millions of inhabitants.

“Widespread record high temperatures expectedas well as record warm lows in parts of the Southwest, along the western Gulf Coast, and in southern Florida”, said the NWS in a report released on the day.

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“Potentially deadly”

In the city of Houston, in the southern state of Texas, residents have been asked to save electricity between 2:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. from Saturday to Mondayin an attempt to mitigate the high demand due to the heat.

On their side, the inhabitants of southern (western) California, who saw thermometers reach maximums of 41°C to 43°C on Saturday, face a second day of sweltering temperatures. The thermometer is expected to exceed 46 ° C in some parts of that state, as well as in those of Nevada and Arizonaaccording to the NWS.

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On Saturday afternoon, California’s famous Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, had reached a temperature of about 51°C and this Sunday afternoon it was around 47ºC, with forecasts of up to 53ºC.

Tourists visited that national park to experience a heat which the NWS warned would be “life-threatening”, which will last until Tuesday night.

Eliana Luna, one of the visitors, told MSNBC on Sunday that the heat gave a “burning sensation” in his body. “You can feel it go down your back to the bottom“, said.

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Also on Saturday, the city of Idyllwild, east of Los Angeles and about 1,645 meters above sea level, surpassed its previous record to reach 37.7°C. In Imperial, east of San Diego, California, the daily record of 46.6°C was matched.

The NWS stressed that Heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the United States and urged the population to take that risk seriously.

“In total, from southern Florida and the Gulf Coast to the Southwest, more than 80 million people remain under an excessive heat advisory or a heat wave advisory starting this morning”, according to the NWS.

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Authorities have extended their warnings for days, advising people to avoid outdoor activities during the day and stay constantly hydrated to avoid fatalities in such temperatures.

Phoenix, the state capital of Arizona, has recorded 16 consecutive days above 42.7°C. On Saturday afternoon temperatures reached 47.7°C and stayed above 32°C overnight.

The city has organized volunteer corps to direct residents to climate-controlled centers and to distribute bottles of water and hats, but the program’s director, David Hondula, told ABC that his three-day-a-week homework schedule is “clearly…not enough.”

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atypical heat

Heat waves are registering with greater frequency and intensity in the main cities of the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They had a frequency of six times per year during the 2010s and 2020s compared to two per year during the 1960s.

“This heat wave is NOT your typical desert heat”, highlighted the Las Vegas office of the NWS on its Twitter account, specifying that “its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures and warm nights” were unusual.

Canada, the neighboring country, suffers with waves of high temperatures combined with months of rainfall below the usual averagebringing the amount of land burned by devastating wildfires so far in 2023 to an all-time high of 10 million hectares on Saturday.

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“This year we find figures worse than those of our most pessimistic scenarios”, Yan Boulanger, a researcher at Natural Resources Canada, told AFP.

Bucks County authorities, in eastern Pennsylvania, four people were reported dead and another three missing after a storm the day beforewhich also caused flash floods that washed away vehicles.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.