Scorching US heat wave to hit 70 million people with third ‘heat dome’ in month
About 70 million people in the US face excessive heat advisories as the third major heat dome in a month brings dangerously high temperatures to southern and central states.
Approximately 70 million people in the United States are under excessive heat advisories as dangerously hot temperatures scorch large portions of the country's southern and central states. This marks the third major 'heat dome' event in the past month, strengthening over the weekend and spanning a vast area from the Gulf of Mexico coast to the Great Plains and the Midwest.
Temperatures of 95-105°F (35-40°C) are expected, with some areas of the southwestern desert potentially reaching 120°F (48°C). The elevated heat is expected to persist into the coming week, held in place by the heat dome—a high-pressure atmospheric system that acts as a lid, trapping heat over a region for days or even weeks.
While heatwaves are not unusual for American summers, their frequency and severity are worsening due to the human-caused climate crisis. The release of heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels has raised global temperatures beyond anything previously experienced during human civilization.
This summer has already been sweltering for many: a large heat dome in early July forced some Independence Day events to be canceled in the East, and another heatwave later hit the West, bringing 115°F (46°C) heat to Montana and breaking temperature records.
The latest heat dome could potentially break records in the Denver area, while the National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for western Nebraska, where weekend temperatures are forecast to reach 108°F (42°C).
Heat is the deadliest weather phenomenon in the US. Elevated nighttime temperatures and high humidity in this heatwave offer no relief for those affected. Older adults, pregnant people, young children, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable.
Dangerously hot conditions are also gripping much of Europe. About 250,000 people have fled wildfires in Spain and France. A separate June heatwave resulted in an estimated 5,700 deaths in France, officials said. Parts of the UK are also burning after hot, dry conditions primed the landscape. In the US, firefighters are battling 88 fires.
'We are experiencing exactly what the climate models in the 1990s said we should experience now—more frequent, more severe heatwaves, bigger temperature anomalies, more humidity, higher overnight temperatures. These are all part and parcel of the climate story,' said Andy Pershing, chief program officer at Climate Central.
