Approximately 65 million people in the northeastern and midwestern states of the United States are under a high temperature alert, as the heat wave that arrived earlier in the country continues to sweep the region.
Record temperatures were set in some areas, with heat indices that mix temperature and humidity, reaching 100° F and 110° F. Highs were exceeded in Maine, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
Additionally, the National Weather Service warned people without reliable air conditioning will be hardest hit. The Ohio River Valley heat risk classification was at Level 4, called “extreme,” for the next two days.
“This rare and/or long-lasting extreme heat, with little or no relief at night, affects anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration,” the agency said, adding that it would likely affect “the most healthcare systems, heat-sensitive industries and infrastructure.”
With temperatures only dropping slightly at night, the national meteorologist advised people to “drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check on family and neighbors.”
The unexpected summer heat wave in the region is attributed to the northward movement of a high-pressure heat dome that had settled over Mexico and the southwestern United States in March.
Subsequently, it slowly crossed the north, breaking temperature records during its passage, The Guardian reported.
For its part, climate group World Weather Attribution released a report Thursday saying the southern heat wave at the end of May was 35 times more likely to have occurred due to climate change, and 2.5°F warmer. hot.
Idaho officials said two people in their 60s lost their lives from heat-related causes, the first due to the heat of 2024. Health officials did not provide further information about the victims on Friday, including where They perished.
In the state of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 51 counties after Tropical Storm Alberto flooded southern parts of the state.
However, forecasters have predicted colder air with less moisture will move across the northern Plains and upper Midwest over the weekend and into the Northeast shortly thereafter.
While it will be uncomfortable in some regions so far, in the mid-Atlantic states, temperatures are forecast to soar into the 100s “with record temperatures possible.”
The heat wave has generated infrastructure problems. In New York, hundreds of people were stranded on trains leaving Penn Station when a power outage and wildfire in the Secaucus swamp area of New Jersey disrupted power.
In this sense, the American railway operator Amtrak indicated that its trains will have to run at slightly slower speeds caused by the heat.
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