2023-07-14 19:08:41
It didn’t look good on the National Weather Service map. After countless red spots in the southwestern United States in the past few days, the third of four warning levels on the heat scale, the map for the weekend showed more and more purple regions.
“Rare and/or prolonged heat with little or no cooling at night. It attacks anyone who doesn’t have adequate cooling or hydration,” explains the weather service, explaining the highest level of the scale, which also promises dangerous temperatures north and south of Los Angeles, in the desert regions of California, Nevada and Utah, and in Arizona .
More than 43 degrees for two weeks
In Phoenix, the National Weather Service recorded more than 43 degrees for Thursday for the 14th straight day. Meteorologists expect a heat record for the coming days that could surpass the previous longest phase with similarly high temperatures in June 1974. At that time, more than 43 degrees were measured in Phoenix on 18 consecutive days.
In California, meanwhile, authorities set up cold rooms to protect the homeless and residents of homes without air conditioning. In the small town of Galt, about 40 kilometers south of Sacramento, the police station opens its refrigerated lobby to those seeking protection from Friday to Monday. The weather service predicted temperatures of almost 49 degrees for the desert regions. Even at night it stays around 27 degrees warm.
Temperature forecast in the USA for the next 24 hours
As the atmospheric boundary layer over the ocean, which keeps California’s coastal regions cool, decreases due to the high-pressure system, it will also be hotter than usual on the beaches. As for Arizona, the National Weather Service for California predicted historic temperatures. Lancaster in Antelope Valley, about 120 kilometers north of Los Angeles, expects more than 43 degrees, a value that the city last reached a good 50 years ago.
A jogger in Los Angeles: California residents suffer from the heatwave : Photo: AP
For the city of Pomona, east of Los Angeles, the meteorologists announced more than 39 degrees. The last time there were similarly high temperatures was more than 90 years ago. “But we’re not dealing with a crazy, extreme heat wave. It’s more of a field-and-field heatwave,” meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld told the Los Angeles Times. The high pressure area that hit southern California a few days ago keeps the heat like a bell over the earth’s surface and leads to a comparatively long hot phase.
According to the weather service, temperatures will remain high in large regions of the southwest for the next one to two weeks. In addition, the heat is expected to spread to the east. “More people die from heat in the United States than from any other weather phenomenon,” warned the Washington Department of Commerce agency. The meteorologists issued heat warnings for more than 110 million Americans.
In Las Vegas, Nevada, health officials set up a database to record heat-related deaths. At least seven people have died in the desert city and neighboring Clark County since April. Last year, more than 150 heat deaths were registered in Las Vegas, where it gets up to 48 degrees at the weekend. California is also trying to adjust to higher temperatures.
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A study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) calculated that the average temperature in the Pacific state has risen by 1.4 degrees over the past 40 years. Following the “Extreme Heat Action Plan,” for which Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked $400 million last year, this week he launched the “Heat Ready CA” program to educate the approximately 40 million residents of the Golden State about the dangers of dehydration , heat stroke and breathing difficulties.
The Sacramento government’s Natural Resources Agency, meanwhile, warned of an increased likelihood of wildfires. The first fires have already been reported from the Fresno and Stockton region in the San Joaquin Valley.
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