The southern United States woke up this Sunday with official warnings and forecasts of excessive heat waves, which have already plagued the country for days, and which will continue for the next week, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). In California the thermometer could exceed 46 °C as well as in the states of Nevada and Arizona.
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“Widespread record high temperatures, as well as record warm daily lows, are expected in parts of the Southwest, along the western Gulf Coast, and in southern Florida,” the NWS said in a report, warning of possible increased risks. for the health of millions of inhabitants.
In the city of Houston, in the southern state of Texas, residents have been asked to save electricity between 2:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. from Saturday to Monday, in an attempt to mitigate high demand due to heat.
On their side, the inhabitants of southern (western) California, who saw thermometers reach maximums of 41 ° C to 43 ° C on Saturday, face a second day of sweltering temperatures and the thermometer is expected to exceed 46 ° C in some parts of that state as well as those of Nevada and Arizona.
By Saturday afternoon, California’s notorious Death Valley – one of the hottest places on Earth – had reached a life-threatening 51°C and was forecast to hit a peak of 54°C on Sunday. .
The NWS stressed that heat is the leading cause of weather-related death in the United States and urged people to take that risk seriously.
Authorities have extended their warnings for days, advising people to avoid outdoor activities during the day and to stay constantly hydrated to avoid fatalities in such temperatures.
Heat waves are being recorded with greater frequency and intensity in the main cities of the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They had a frequency of six times per year during the 2010s and 2020s compared to two per year during the 1960s.
“This heat wave is NOT typical desert heat,” the Las Vegas office of the NWS highlighted on its Twitter account, specifying that “its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures, and warm nights” were unusual.
with AFP
