Key events
As of Monday, 36m people are under excessive heat warnings in the US, particularly in the south and western areas, ABC News reported.
Phoenix, Arizona’s capital city, is expected to hit a high temperature of 116F on Monday, the Associated Press reported, as temperatures remained above 100F throughout the weekend and, dangerously, are not coming down much at night, giving little relief and straining power systems as residents try to stay cool.
America’s fifth largest city, with 1.6 million people, is accustomed to a hot desert climate, but temperatures are rising due to global heating and urban development which has created a sprawling asphalt and concrete heat island that traps heat especially at night.
Read the Guardian’s report on how Phoenix residents suffered intolerable night-time temperatures during its first extreme heatwave of the season in June 2022.
Sara Sneath
A heat dome of high pressure has been hovering over Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma creating dangerously hot weather for nearly two weeks.
A heat advisory is expected to last through Tuesday, with heat index readings reaching as high as 120F last week and evening temperatures in the 80s offering little reprieve.
The city of New Orleans announced that cooling centers will be open for residents to escape the heat throughout the weekend. Louisiana’s high humidity makes it even harder for the body to cool down during high temperatures, said Alicia Van Doren, who helped write a recent report for the Louisiana department of health about heat-related illnesses in the state.
High humidity levels in the air prevent sweat from evaporating, impeding the body’s mechanism to stay cool. Van Doren said:
So when that internal heat production exceeds the heat loss, the body reaches a point that it can no longer sustain its natural thermal regulation. That’s when core temps start to rise and heat stroke occurs.
Since 1 April, more than 1,200 people have gone to emergency departments in the state for heat-related illnesses, according to Louisiana department of health, or LDH, data.
A report published by the LDH last month found that workers – especially those in agriculture, construction, landscaping, transportation and utilities – are among the most at-risk populations for heat-related illnesses because they have less control over the amount of time they spend under the sun. About 320 workers are taken to the hospital for heat-related illnesses in the state every year, according to the report. Black workers were hospitalized for heat-related illness at double the rate of white workers.
Millions of Americans on alert for dangerously high temperatures amid climate crisis warnings
Good morning. Welcome back to our coverage of the extreme weather impacting tens of millions across the US.
Excessive heat warnings remain in place in many areas across the country and are expected to last through the week. A heat dome of high pressure has been hovering over Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma creating dangerously hot weather for nearly two weeks. On Sunday, heat index values threatened to hit 110F in New Orleans, according to the National Weather Service.
In Phoenix, Arizona, temperatures are expected to rise above 110F all week, after reaching 115F on Sunday – eight degrees above normal for this time of the year and approaching the record of 118F set in 2011. The onset of night will offer little relief from the sweltering heat, with night-time temperatures not expected to fall below the 80F necessary for the body to recover from the cumulative impact of heat.
The current heatwave was made five times more likely by climate change, according to an analysis by Climate Central.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of residents in central Illinois remain without power after severe storms knocked down trees and power lines across the region. Heavy rains flooded Chicago on Sunday, trapping cars and flooding basements across the city. The National Weather Service warned the flooding could be “life-threatening”.
Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates from across the region.
