Death Valley records hottest summer ever as Los Angeles braces for sweltering heat wave

The Southern California city is also experiencing unhealthy air quality

As Southern California communities brace for more record heat on Friday, Death Valley National Park — the hottest place on Earth — just saw its hottest summer in history.

From June to August, the average daily temperature in the hottest, driest, and lowest national park was 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 0.3 degrees higher than the previous record of 104.2 in 2021.

The sweltering temps haven’t stopped tourists from flocking to the park, despite reports of multiple deaths and rescues in July. A Death Valley National Park resort employee was rescued last month after becoming severely dehydrated, losing consciousness, and sliding down a hillside.

Bystanders had to help a woman hiking in the Badlands Loop when the air temperature reached 115 degrees. In early July, a park visitor on a motorcycle died from heat exposure near Badwater Basin and another was treated for severe heat illness. Preliminary data showed the high temperature that day was 128 degrees. The park said there have been two fatalities where heat was a contributing factor.

July was an especially hot month, and the park experienced nine consecutive days with temperatures of 125 degrees or higher. The highest temperature recorded this summer was 129.2 degrees on July 7.

A visitor wipes sweat from their brow at Death Valley National Park’s Badwater Basin last July. The National Park Service said that the park had seen its hottest summer ever, with peak temperatures in July. More extreme heat is forecast to bake much of Southern California, including Los Angeles County ((AP Photo/Ty ONeil, File))

This week, the park is warning visitors to expect high temperatures between 100 and 130 degrees. Parkgoers should minimize time outside, not go hiking after 10 a.m., stay hydrated, and be aware that cell phones do not work in most of the park. Triple-digit temperatures are expected to continue into early October.

While the landlocked Death Valley National Park extends across California’s border with Nevada, shockingly high temperatures were also felt along the California coast.

Los Angeles, home to nearly 4 million residents, has seen a stretch of high temperatures in the high 90s and 100s. The city’s National Weather Service office said Thursday, which had a high of 102 degrees, could kick off a four-to-five-day stretch of triple-digit heat. The previous record of eight days was set in 1955. Five days of 100 degrees or more would tie the record for the third-longest stretch.

The agency also said that nearby Hollywood Burbank Airport had seen a high temperature of 114 degrees on Thursday, tying the all-time record high temperature for that day.

Dangerous conditions forced Southern California residents inside, as some Long Beach students reportedly attended schools without air conditioning, according to NBC4 Los Angeles. The Long Beach Unified School District told the station that 84 percent of its schools were fully air-conditioned. The district said in a release this week that all but one of its schools will have air conditioning in the next three years. The state of California doesn’t require schools to have air conditioning.

Los Angeles has opened multiple cooling centers for other residents in the downtown area. Democratic Mayor Karen Bass said in a tweet on Thursday that an excessive heat warning was in effect in the region through Monday and that cooling centers would be extended until then. More libraries would be open on Sunday for those seeking relief, with extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

The Los Angeles skyline is seen above a train moving near the Union Pacific LATC Intermodal Terminal in April. There is an excessive heat warning in effect in the Los Angeles region through Monday. The heat has worsened air quality in and around the city. ((AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes))

Heat isn’t the only thing threatening Angelenos. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said the city’s air was moderately to very unhealthy for sensitive groups on Friday.

As temperatures rise, air quality falls. Los Angeles is the top city for ozone pollution in the country, according to the American Lung Association. Extreme heat, fueled by climate change, can raise ground-level ozone levels by accelerating the chemical reactions that create it. Nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react in sunlight and heat.

Wildfire smoke and other particulate matter is a potential concern too, with a handful of larger fires burning to the north of the county. Smoke from recent wildfires across the country have spread over Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Michigan, and North Dakota.

Smoke from wildfires can worsen respiratory disease, and is associated with premature death. An analysis from the National Bureau of Economic Research published earlier this year said wildfire smoke exposure contributes to nearly 16,000 deaths each year.

Heat deaths and related illness are more preventable, although the World Meteorological Organization says extreme heat causes the greatest mortality of all extreme weather. An August JAMA Network study from researchers around the country said heat deaths have been increasing, and doubled in recent decades. It is unclear whether that trend will continue, but the European climate service Copernicus reported Friday that this summer is Earth’s hottest on record.

The Independent will be revealing its Climate100 List in September and hosting an event in New York, which can be attended online.