An already dangerous weeks-long heat wave could worsen as a heat dome intensifies and reaches peak strength over parts of the western United States. The heat dome is so formidable the National Weather Service in Phoenix called it “one of the strongest high-pressure systems this region has ever seen”.
About 100 heat records could fall through the weekend as it intensifies, piling onto the more than 1,000 high-temperature records broken in the US since June. More than 90 million people are under heat alerts after the heat dome expanded into places like California, which is now experiencing its first extreme heat wave of the year.
Grim warning as Earth reaches unwanted milestone
It has already been dangerously hot for weeks in Texas, Florida and Arizona, where Phoenix is in the middle of a likely record-breaking streak of consecutive 110F (43C) days, forcing many businesses and parks to close or readjust their hours. The heat will be so intense, forecasters suggested residents of Las Vegas avoid the outdoors between 9am and 6pm, with the city forecast to challenge its all-time high temperature of 117F (47C) on Sunday.
It won’t get much cooler at night, with low temperatures nearing 90F (32C) – a particularly dangerous side effect of the climate crisis.
A woman looks over the Los Angeles skyline from the Griffith Observatory amid a heatwave. Credit: AP
Residents seek ways to beat the heat index as millions of people in the US swelter through a heatwave. Credit: Rogelio V. Solis/APEven the hottest place on Earth, California’s Death Valley, could reach rare highs, with 130F (54C) possible Sunday, forecasters at the National Weather Service told CNN. It has only happened a handful of times, one of which is the all-time global record high temperature of 134F (56C). This kind of extreme heat is one of the hallmarks of human-caused climate change, the symptoms of which are tallying up this year into a global record box score of sorts: “unprecedented” ocean heat off the coast of Florida and in the North Atlantic; record heat in Beijing, in what could be one of the hottest summers in China; and an ongoing “Cerberus” heat wave, threatening to topple European temperature records.
It all adds up to what could be the hottest year on record. Over a third of Americans are under extreme heat advisories, watches, and warnings as a blistering heatwave continues across the Southwest and California. Credit: Damian Dovarganes/APA resident tests the temperature of drinking fountain water during a heatwave in Austin, Texas. Credit: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A ‘perfect storm’ of deadly heat The records also add up into something more serious for human health, doctors say. “Make no mistake about it: This heat is deadly, and being in it for long periods of time is deadly,” Dr Matthew Levy of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine told CNN. The extreme temperatures could trigger heat illness in as little as 20 to 30 minutes for people doing anything strenuous outdoors, because heat acts as a “perfect storm”, which overloads the body until it eventually short-circuits and then shuts down, Levy said. The time frame would be even shorter for those most vulnerable to heat, like the elderly and those with preexisting health conditions. Popular Victorian caravan park closes amid wild weather Boy hospitalized after drinking too much water If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings. To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.