Record-breaking, Widespread and Stubborn Heat Wave to Blanket U.S. this Week by Andrew Freedman
Updated June 16, 2024
Introduction:
(Axios) A June heat wave for the record books is set to send temperatures soaring from the Midwest and Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast beginning Sunday and continuing into the coming weeks.
Why it matters: Extreme heat is the top weather-related killer in the U.S. For millions of people, it will be the first heat wave of the season, heightening health risks.
Threat level: By Sunday, 268 million people in the U.S. are forecast to see air temperatures reach or exceed 90°F, with many of them experiencing heat indices at or above 100°F.
• Big cities that will be affected by this event include Chicago, Columbus, Albany, Syracuse, Pittsburg, Washington, D.C., New York City, Hartford and Boston.
• Even northern Maine, which typically is just emerging into warmer conditions at this time of year, is likely to see temperatures soar into the upper 90s°F.
• Some computer models show that the center of the strong ridge of high pressure, also known as a heat dome, is likely to slide from the southern Great Lakes region to the northern Mid-Atlantic during midweek, and into New England.
Fossil Fuels Have Made Extreme Heat 35 Times More Likely in North America by Ruth Murai
June 22, 2024
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) This weekend marks the official start of summer, and it’s shaping up to be a scorcher. The extreme heat that’s afflicted much of the eastern United States this week is set to continue, with temperatures hitting the mid to upper 90s in the Midwest and the Mid Atlantic regions. The National Weather Service reports that temperatures in the Midwest are “anomalous and dangerous for early Summer.” In the Southeast, temperatures could exceed 110 degrees. Making matters worse, overnight temps are expected to stay high, allowing little relief to those without access to air conditioning.
According to climate scientists at World Weather Attribution, we’ve largely done this to ourselves. Their recent report found that in the year 2000, this level of heat was only expected to occur once in a lifetime for those living in North and Central America. Now, “on average a person will experience it 5 or 6 times in their lifetime.” That uptick is driven by “fossil fuel driven warming,” which has made the heatwaves we’re experiencing in this region 35 times more likely to occur.
“As long as humans fill the atmosphere with fossil fuel emissions, the heat will only get worse,” stated one of the report’s authors, Izidine Pinto, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, adding that “vulnerable people will continue to die.”
The heat isn’t just uncomfortable—it’s extremely dangerous. According to Dr. Catharina Giudice, a FXB Climate Change & Human Health Fellow at Harvard, “extreme heat increases the rates of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal diseases and threatens the stability of our electrical grid, impacting communities and healthcare facilities.” Socially vulnerable people feel those impacts the most. A 2021 report from the Environmental Protection Agency found that Black people in the US are 40 percent more likely than other racial groups to live in areas “with the highest projected increases in extreme temperature related deaths.”
caltrek’s comment: Another example pf why supporting a candidate like Biden is far wiser than supporting a candidate like Trump. While it is true that government policies may only have an effect “at the margins,” it is also true that “at the margins” is often where people die.
Death Valley will hit 130 degrees and could break world record amid blistering heat wave
Source: NBC News
July 5, 2024, 9:09 AM EDT
California’s Death Valley could reach a scorching 130 degrees next week and could come close to breaking its blistering world record as parts of the west, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic are under an intense heat wave forecast to intensify this weekend.
The temperature at Death Valley National Park, which stretches between eastern California and Nevada, will reach highs around 130 degrees at Furnace Creek, Sunday night through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Furnace Creek, in Inyo County, California, is home to the headquarters for the national park.
The sweltering heat could creep close to the world’s record highest temperature of 134 degrees marked at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley on July 10th, 1913, according to the National Weather Service office in Las Vegas.
An excessive heat warning is in effect through Wednesday at the park and Las Vegas Valley due to the perilous and prolonged heat, which will see temperatures hit 12 to 14 degrees above seasonal average. “This heat is very dangerous. Yes, the Mojave Desert gets hot. But this heat will be record-breaking,” NWS Las Vegas warned. Fourth of July temperatures have already fueled wildfires in California.
Heatstroke alerts issued across Japan as heatwave leads to four deaths
Mon 8 Jul 2024 06.40 BST
Japan’s meteorological agency has issued a heatstroke alert for 26 of the country’s 47 prefectures, urging people not to go outside unless absolutely necessary, to use their air conditioners during the day and at night, and to drink plenty of water.
Authorities in Japan issued the extreme heat warnings after the temperature reached 40C for the first time this year on Sunday, as the country swelters in the grip of another heatwave.
Shizuoka in central Japan reported a temperature of 40C in the early afternoon on Sunday, while 244 other locations saw the mercury rise to 35C or over – a level officially recognised as “extremely hot”.
The temperature in Shizuoka, recorded shortly after 1 pm, was the highest in the city since records began in 1940, according to the Japan Times.
The meteorological agency warned earlier this year that temperatures are expected to be higher than average again this summer, perhaps exceeding those last summer – the hottest on record.
D.C. hits record 104 amid most intense heat stretch since Dust Bowl
Source: Washington Post
The ongoing heat wave in Washington keeps making history.
The District tied a record high of 104 degrees Tuesday while surpassing the century mark for the third straight day, matching the longest such streak on record set in 1930 at the beginning of the Dust Bowl.
On Sunday, temperatures soared to a record of 101, and on Monday they reached a record 102.
Six million people at risk from extreme heat in England, campaign group warns
Fri 19 Jul 2024 06.00 BST
Inadequate climate protections mean at least 6 million lives are at risk from extreme heat in England, an analysis has found.
A report by the campaign group Friends of the Earth found older people and young children were the most high-risk groups for heatwaves, with 1.7 million under-5s and 4.3 million people over 65 living in the most heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods in England.
The analysis builds on previous research by the University of Manchester and Friends of the Earth which identified 15,662 heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods. Birmingham was found to be the city with the most such areas.
Heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods are defined as those exposed to prolonged periods of very hot weather, with an average of 27.5C (81.5F) or higher for five days or more, conditions which are becoming more common amid climate breakdown.
However, analysts say current figures for the number of people at risk are a conservative estimate, and that the true number is likely to increase once people of all ages living with disabilities and health conditions are considered.
Life at 115F: a sweltering summer pushes Las Vegas to the brink
Thu 25 Jul 2024 12.00 BST
Hot air wafted through the heavy, gold-lined doors of a Las Vegas casino as they opened, offering a reminder of a disaster quietly unfolding outside. Even though the sun had just set on an evening in mid-July, temperatures were yet to dip below 100F (37C).
Spawned from a paved-over oasis in the Mojave, this desert metropolis has always been hot. But a string of brutal heatwaves this summer has pushed Sin City to a deadly simmer.
It’s hard to tell from inside the cool, cavernous buildings that line the Las Vegas Strip, which have become unwitting refuges from the summer elements. Tourists willing to enter labyrinths of slot machines and blaring pop music, shops and shows can spend hours lost in an alternate world, away from the sun.
For the 2.3 million people who call this valley home, the dangerous elements are harder to ignore. When temperatures climb, shadeless streets are hot enough to cause second-degree burns in seconds.
This June was the city’s hottest on record. In July, things got even worse: the city experienced a record seven days at 115F or higher and set a new all-time high of 120F.
Extreme heat poses ‘real risk’ to Spain’s mass tourism industry
Sat 27 Jul 2024 05.00 BST
The climate emergency poses a “real risk” to Spain’s traditional mass tourist model as rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves hit the country’s most popular coastal destinations, a senior public health adviser has warned.
Héctor Tejero, the head of health and climate change at Spain’s health ministry, said the increasingly apparent physical impacts of the climate emergency had already led the ministry to begin talks with the British embassy on how best to educate “vulnerable” tourists about coping with the heat.
Asked whether the climate emergency could lead to tourism disappearing from parts of Spain in the future, Tejero said: “It’s a real risk because the big Spanish sol y playa tourist areas – the areas that are most dependent on tourism – are places where the impact of climate change is going to be greatest in Spain; places such as the south and the east of the peninsula – basically the Mediterranean coast. There’s a definite risk that the zones where there’s most tourism will become less habitable because of more heatwaves and much hotter nights.”
Such conditions, he added, could discourage tourists, or push up air-conditioning costs for hotels as the units would need to be on for longer periods of time.
“I’d say tourism is one of many sectors that’s at risk from climate change,” Tejero said. “Apart from the fact that it’s causing tensions in certain areas, it needs to adapt itself to the climatic reality that’s on the way. That’s why we need to adapt the tourist sector, consider reducing it, and try to mitigate the effects of climate change before they get worse. But Spain is the EU country that’s most vulnerable to climate change and that’s not going to change in the short term.”
NASA Data Shows July 22 Was Earth’s Hottest Day on Record July 29, 2024
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) July 22, 2024, was the hottest day on record, according to a NASA analysis of global daily temperature data. July 21 and 23 of this year also exceeded the previous daily record, set in July 2023. These record-breaking temperatures are part of a long-term warming trend driven by human activities, primarily the emission of greenhouse gases. As part of its mission to expand our understanding of Earth, NASA collects critical long-term observations of our changing planet.
“In a year that has been the hottest on record to date, these past two weeks have been particularly brutal,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Through our over two dozen Earth-observing satellites and over 60 years of data, NASA is providing critical analyses of how our planet is changing and how local communities can prepare, adapt, and stay safe. We are proud to be part of the Biden-Harris Administration efforts to protect communities from extreme heat.”
Astonishing' Antarctica heat wave sends temperatures 50 degrees above normal
Source: cnn Climate
Published 2:00 PM EDT, Sat August 3, 2024
CNN — A record-breaking heat wave unfolding at what should be the coldest time in Earth’s coldest place has scientists concerned about what it could mean for the future health of the Antarctic continent, and the consequences it could inflict for millions of people across the globe.
Temperatures since mid-July have climbed up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit above normal over parts of Antarctica and unseasonable warmth could continue through the first half of August.
The latest data shows high temperatures in portions of East Antarctica – where the most abnormal conditions are ongoing – that are typically between minus 58 and minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit are now closer to minus 13 to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s cold, but Bismarck, North Dakota, has reached minus 20 degrees at least once a year in almost every year since 1875. Antarctica’s typical winter cold should be operating at a level unfathomable to most people in the US.
Summerlike heat in the dead of winter – even if much of the continent is still below freezing – is an alarming development for a place more capable than any other of generating catastrophic sea level rise as fossil fuel pollution continues to drive global temperatures upward.
