Above 40°
Temperatures should gradually increase during the week, becoming unbearable in places, above 40 degrees.
“Cancel outdoor activities between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.,” advised the NWS in Las Vegas on Monday, recalling that “heat is the deadliest weather phenomenon” in the United States. “This level of extreme heat (…) with little or no respite overnight, affects anyone without effective air conditioning and/or adequate hydration,” the service insisted.
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A trying time: more than 10 days already in Phoenix
Beyond the heat itself, it is the duration of this episode that worries. In Phoenix, capital of Arizona, the mercury has already exceeded 43 degrees for 10 days. This heat wave is likely to be “one of the longest, if not the longest” ever measured in the city, according to the local branch of the NWS.
On a hiking trail to Phoenix, July 10, 2023. — © Matt York / keystone-sda.ch
In Tucson, another city in Arizona, some collectives distribute bags of ice and bottles of water by the hundreds, according to the New York Times.
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Dehydration without realizing it
Dehydration is a major summer risk in the United States. In the southwestern states, sweat sometimes evaporates before it even collects on the skin, and by the time some victims realize they are in trouble, it is sometimes already too late. Last week, a man died in California’s Death Valley desert, most likely from the heat according to authorities. Two tires of his car had punctured.
In addition to heat-related alerts, authorities in the Golden State are currently issuing warnings about the risk of flash floods in certain areas. Because the temperatures are melting the thick snowpack deposited on the peaks of the Sierra Nevada during last winter, punctuated by numerous storms.
Texas lives a heat longevity record
In addition, Texas is still affected by a prolonged heat wave. The city of El Paso, on the border with Mexico, broke its record for the number of days above 37.7°C (100° Fahrenheit), with 24 consecutive days, local weather services announced on Sunday.
A heat alert is also in effect through Wednesday in South Florida around Miami.
A scientific study directly attributing the current heat waves to climate change has yet to be conducted. But many experts insist that global warming, linked to humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels, is responsible for the multiplication and intensification of heat waves in the world.
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And henceforth, the legal battles
In the United States, the repetition of heat waves is beginning to provoke legal battles. In June, Multnomah County, Oregon’s most populous county, filed suit against several multinational oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron. He claims $ 51 billion in damages from them after a particularly deadly “heat dome” that occurred in 2021 in this western state.
2023-07-11 05:50:08
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