Heat dome sees triple-figure temperatures across US cities
An extreme heat wave scorched parts of the US on Tuesday, with major East Coast cities like New York and Boston reaching triple-digit temperatures.
John F Kennedy International Airport recorded 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38C) at midday on Tuesday, marking its first occurrence since 2013, with conditions described as "extremely dangerous."
Nearly 40 US cities, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Raleigh, North Carolina, broke daily heat records on Monday, with temperatures reaching up to 104 degrees (40C).
Over 150 million people were placed under heat warnings due to a "heat dome" phenomenon, with very warm overnight lows expected to continue through Wednesday.
The heat caused disruptions, including Amtrak delays due to speed restrictions on East Coast routes and the rescue of two 16-year-old hikers in New Hampshire who were overcome by the heat.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Week of sweltering US heat – is this the new normal in a warming world?
The list of climate-related disasters in the US was long last week as vast swathes of America sweated under a brutal heatwave. There was a 'mass-casualty event' of fainting high-schoolers in New Jersey as a K-pop concert was cut short in Washington. Young hikers had to be rescued in New Hampshire as tarmac roads bucked and melted in South Dakota and Nebraska. Luckless Amtrak passengers were stuck on a train with no air conditioning in a Baltimore tunnel, while some subway services in New York were suspended. The Trump administration declared a power emergency in the US south-east, and in Georgia the agriculture commissioner advised residents to make sure their animals had water and shade. 'Remember to take care of our friends also,' Tyler Harper said. These incidents – and many more – were the result of the highest temperatures across the northern and middle swath of the US at this early summer date in some cases since the late 19th century. Nearly 130 million people were under extreme heat warnings or heat advisories on Thursday, according to Noaa's Weather Prediction Center, with 282 locations breaking daily heat records this week, with another 121 equalling with previous highs, Noaa data showed. Daily heat records were set in at least 50 cities in the eastern US on Tuesday alone, according to the National Weather Service, with New York City recording its hottest day since 2012, according to Noaa. Climate scientists blamed a rapidly warming Arctic for the heat dome – a consequence that they say is the result of the 'stuck' weather patterns that come from a wavier polar jet stream, which can cause not just heatwaves but also heavy rainfall and floods. A new study, published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said found that stalled atmospheric patterns have tripled over the last 70 years. The authors of the study claim that while climate models predict that these patterns would occur more frequently with climate change, their study is the first to demonstrate that it is already happening – and will likely intensify as the planet continues to warm. Climate Central's climate shift index estimates that high temperatures over the past few days were at least five times more likely to occur because of human-caused climate change. Climate Central scientist Zachary Labe told Politico that the early heatwave 'is a stark reminder that climate change is making these dangerous and oppressive heat waves far more likely, affecting millions of people'. 'One of easiest ways to see climate change's impact is in how it's increasing the chance these types of heatwaves will occur,' Labe told Bloomberg. 'By the middle of this century, these types of heat waves will be normal. The extremes will be even higher.' According to the American Medical Association, elevated temperatures nearly 22,000 people died from heat in 14 years between 1999 and 2023. The National Weather Service statistics show heat claiming more lives than any other weather-related event. But heat events are only fatal in the extreme. A broader, general sense of oppression and discomfort was palpable in New York last week, when the extreme hear arrived after a cool spring and gave New Yorkers little time to acclimatize. 'We all know that prolonged heat exposure can have serious effects on your overall health, including mental health, but it can also negatively affect your skin,' said Kim Laudati, chief executive of IT Intelligent Treatment, a skin regeneration business in New York. Prolonged heat exposure due to the skin's moisture-barrier protective function becomes damaged, Lauditi said, leading to water loss within deeper and surface layers of skin, resulting in a state of dehydration. Chronic heat can lead to vasodilation and persistent redness. Inflammation ensues, which can also promote heat-induced erythema, or redness, to the point of creating telangiectasia; commonly known as 'spider veins' and melasma, a skin discoloration. There is also reduced concentration, irritability, and mood swings because the body is diverting resources to regulate body temperature; the impairment of melatonin production, leading to poor sleep. Heat-related damage to the blood-brain barrier can cause lack of focus, confusion, fainting and organ failure. 'With climate change already reshaping how we live, it's more important than ever that we educate ourselves,' Lauditi said. Climate change was on the minds of voters last week in New York's mayoral primary that culminated on the hottest day of heat-dome, when a thermometer at Belvedere Castle in Central Park registered 99 degrees for the first time since July 18, 2012. Democrat mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani has said that the climate crisis is the central issue of out time and that it isn't separate from the crisis of capitalism, making it a co-traveler with his resonant message about the affordability of life, or lack of it, in the city. Zohran's climate platform is grounded in making the lives of working people better through climate action,' said Denae Ávila-Dickson with the Sunrise Movement, a climate group that endorsed Mamdani. 'He has an important commitment to transforming New York City into a national leader on climate.' 'It's clear to us that the climate crisis has been politicized, but it's not a political issue,' Ávila-Dickson added. 'It's affecting people in every city, in every state, and a lot of times we fee that it affects people in right in rural States, especially because they're not having those same kinds of resources.' In a typical year between 1979 and 2000, the average temperature in the northern hemisphere temperature would break the 21C (69.8F) barrier in July and continue for about five weeks, according to University of Maine's Climate Change Institute. But last year, the hottest on record, the northern hemisphere's average temperature held above 21C from 13 June until 5 September, and data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that heatwaves have grown longer, more frequent and more intense over the past seven decades. 'If I was to compare this with what happened in the 20th century, it would be very unusual,' said Sonia Seneviratne, a Swiss climate scientist at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science of the ETH Zurich, told the Washington Post.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Heat wave temperatures to hit 30C today as heatwave continues
Temperatures are predicted to hit 30C for the second day in London today as a heatwave continues. The east of England and the Midlands are both forecast to see highs of 28C, according to the Met amber heat health alert was issued for some areas on Friday by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) until 18:00 BST Tuesday, with temperatures set to peak on Monday. This is the second amber alert in two weeks and means weather impacts are "likely to be felt across the whole health service". The head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA has urged people to check on those who are more vulnerable and take "sensible precautions while enjoying the sun". The alert stretches across London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England.A yellow heat alert, less serious than amber, has also been issued for Yorkshire and Humber as well as the West Midlands. It denotes "significant impacts" for the health and social care Monday, the UKHSA has warned, "Much of the country will see temperatures in the early to mid-30s" (C) at the height of the country's current record high for June rests at 35.6C, set in Southampton's Mayflower Park in 1957 and met again at Camden Square in North London in Farmer, Director of Operations at London Ambulance Service has warned: "It's really, really important to keep hydrated" and to "keep away from alcohol" in the heat. Keeping out of direct sunlight in the middle of the day and taking your medication in a timely manner are also key, Farmer Johnson, wife of former prime minister Boris Johnson, has urged breast-feeding mothers in particular to stay hydrated after she was hospitalised for two nights for severe at Glastonbury festival, which is now in the last of its five days, are expected to reach 27C on Sunday. The hottest year for the festival was 2017, when highs of 30C saw dozens of people being treated by paramedics.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Chelsea boss lashes out at Club World Cup organisers after yet another weather delay
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 28 (Reuters) - Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca lashed out after a two-hour weather delay disrupted his team's last-16 Club World Cup victory over Benfica on Saturday, suggesting the United States was not a suitable country for the competition - a year before it is due to host the men's World Cup. Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 in extra-time to qualify for the quarter-finals after a game that ended four hours and 39 minutes after kicking off, following a two-hour interruption due to a storm warning. It was the sixth time that a game was stopped at the 32-club tournament because of the risk of lightning. "For me personally, it's not football," Maresca told a press conference. "I think it's a joke. It's not football. "I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven or eight games, that means that probably this is not the right place to do this competition. "It's a fantastic competition. It's the Club World Cup, all the best clubs are here," he added. "But six, seven games suspended? It's not normal. In a World Cup how many have they suspended? Probably zero. In a European (championship), how many games? Zero. There is some problem." FIFA, which organised the tournament, was not immediately available for comment. Chelsea were 1-0 up when the players were asked to leave the pitch and play only resumed almost two hours later. "The game was very good for 85 minutes, then we stopped for two hours, and when we started it was a completely different game. It's not the same game because you break the tempo," Maresca said.
