US heat wave exposes infrastructure, health vulnerabilities – and it's not quite over yet

CNN

5 days ago

Buckled roads. Broken bridges. Delayed trains. Strained power grids that led to dangerous outages. Cases of heat illness and canceled sporting events. These were just a few of the effects from this week's oppressive heat wave, which brought the hottest day in over a decade on Tuesday.
As previous disasters have laid bare the United States' vulnerabilities to other types of extreme weather, this week is revealing strains in the country's infrastructure and highlighting the public health risks when faced with such record-breaking heat.
The heat wave comes as the odds of extreme heat events globally are growing steeply as the world warms, along with their severity and duration. As global average temperatures increase, heat waves are the type of extreme weather event that scientists can most reliably tie to climate change caused by fossil fuel pollution.
And this week's isn't over yet: Nearly 100 daily temperature records are threatened on Wednesday and heat indices are likely to reach the triple-digits along large portions of the East Coast. About 125 million people are still under extreme heat warnings and advisories on Wednesday.
When this heat wave began to build over the weekend, roads buckled in South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa as the asphalt baked in the hot sun. On Monday, passengers had to be rescued from an Amtrak stuck in a Baltimore tunnel with no air conditioning. Widespread speed restrictions were put in place along multiple Amtrak routes due to the tendency for the heat to warp rail tracks, along with the potential for electrical outages. Numerous trains were canceled outright due to the weather. More roads cracked in the East Coast as the heat persisted, including interstates in New Jersey.
In New York City, subway platforms were transformed into saunas as temperatures in some areas soared to record levels for June, accompanied by sultry levels of humidity. In Massachusetts, the heat rendered some swing bridges inoperable.
Heat waves are the deadliest form of extreme weather in the US, according to the National Weather Service, and while the full extent of any deaths or health impacts from this heat may take weeks or longer to become known, there have been prominent instances of heat-related illnesses.
At least one death is being blamed on the heat in the St. Louis area, where a woman was reportedly living without water or air conditioning access for three days, police said.
Sixteen people were sent to the hospital and over 150 were evaluated for heat-related illnesses during two high school graduations in Paterson, New Jersey.
In Washington, DC, a K-Pop concert ended early due to a slew of heat-related health incidents on Monday night. And the Washington Monument remains closed on Wednesday due to the hot weather.
Multiple hospitals, including in New York City and Chicago, had trouble maintaining their power and air conditioning systems, leading to stifling conditions. In New York, utility company Con Edison urged residents to conserve power to avoid rolling outages.
Young hikers had to be rescued in New Hampshire due to heat-related injuries, and in Norfolk, Massachusetts, at least two firefighters were hospitalized due to exhaustion while battling flames in record hot conditions.
And temperatures were so hot in Charlotte, North Carolina, that athletes competing in FIFA Club World Cup games on Tuesday watched their teams play from inside the locker room while on the substitute bench, German pro soccer team Bayern Munich said in a post on X.
The heat peaked on Tuesday in many locations, with monthly records toppled from Maine to the Mid-Atlantic. In Augusta, Maine, the high temperature on Tuesday reached 100 degrees, its hottest on record for June and tying the state capital's all-time high temperature record.
Boston reached 102 degrees, setting a new June high temperature record. Tuesday is now tied for the third-hottest day on record for the city – any other days that have been as hot or hotter all occurred in July or August.
Philadelphia also marked its first 100-degree temperature reading since 2012, reaching 101 degrees Tuesday and setting the record for the city's hottest-ever day this early in the summer. The city broke Monday's daily high temperature record when it reached 99 degrees.
Records also fell in Providence, Rhode Island, where temperatures reached 100 degrees – a new high for June high. Meanwhile, Newark, New Jersey, reached 103 degrees, tying the June high temperature record.
In parts of New York City, temperatures climbed above the three-digit mark. John F. Kennedy International Airport, in Queens, hit 102 degrees on Monday afternoon – the first time since 2011 and the first time ever in the month of June. LaGuardia Airport, also in Queens, saw a high temperature of 101 degrees, tying its record for the month of June.
Forecast high temperatures for these locations on Wednesday are in the mid-to-upper 90s, with heat indices exceeding 100 degrees.
Studies have shown heat extremes have clear ties to global warming, as their likelihood and severity also increases significantly as global average temperature rises.
An analysis by the climate research nonprofit Climate Central found climate change made Tuesday's extreme heat in the Mid-Atlantic at least five times more likely to occur when compared with a modeled world without emissions from burning fossil fuels.
'There is no uncertainty around the fact that climate change makes heatwaves more intense and more frequent,' said climate scientist Fredi Otto, who leads an international group, World Weather Attribution, that examines extreme weather events and their potential climate change ties.
'We've always had dangerous heat, but in our warming world, that heat is pushing to new levels and extremes,' said Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at Climate Central.
As scientists continue to examine the ties between extreme weather and climate change, the link is becoming clearer.
'Nearly all extreme heat events that have been analyzed show an influence from climate change–meaning that climate change pushed the heat to new extremes, and often for longer periods of time,' she told CNN.
CNN's Rebekah Riess and CNN Meteorologist Linda Lam contributed to this report.