Extreme heat stretches into second straight week for most Americans
Heat indices could reach up to 115F (46C) on Wednesday in parts of the South
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Persistently high temperatures will spread across the US again this week as another period of extreme heat hits the country.
Parts of the country from the Deep South up through the nothern Plains will face the heat again this week, with temperatures forecast to reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38C) in some places, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Parts of the southeast could see record daily temperatures, NWS said. Heat advisories have been issued for parts of the Great Lakes region.
Over the next week, 70 per cent of Americans will face heat above 90F (32C), with 20 per cent facing heat over 100F (38C), CNN reports.
The extreme heat is due to a heat dome that has travelled eastward over the continent, AccuWeather reports. A heat dome can lead to sweltering temperatures as high pressure traps hot air that can linger over an area.
On Monday, temperatures soared in Minnesota, as the mercury reached over 100F (38C) at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport, NWS said. With humidity, some areas felt as hot as 105F (40C).
By Wednesday, heat indices across the south will reach up to 115F (46C) around cities like Jackson, Mississippi, and Montgomery, Alabama, AccuWeather says. Heat indices over 100F will stretch from Texas to Ohio and down to Florida, they add.
This week’s heatwave continues a period of extreme heat at the start of the summer. Last week, high temperatures pummelled the South, Great Plains and Midwest as well, breaking daily temperatures records.
That heat resulted in record power-use on the Texas electricity grid and thousands of cattle deaths from heat stress in Kansas.
People have been encouraged to stay hydrated and check on people who may be vulnerable to heat stress.
Extreme heat in the US comes as Europe is also experiencing a record-breaking heatwave. As the climate crisis grows, heatwaves are expected to become both more frequent and more common.
According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a heat wave that once occured every ten years will occur almost six times as often and be 2.6 degrees C hotter as the world reached 2C of warming above 19th-century temperatures.
Currently, the world is on track for 2.7C of warming by the end of the century, according to the Climate Action Tracker.
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