Almost all of the United States experienced above-normal temperatures in the past week. Dangerous heat is happening this week.
More than 85 million Americans are under an extreme heat warning or heat advisory issued by the National Weather Service. Extreme heat, severe storms and flooding are all expected this week.
Forecasters warn this week’s extreme heat will linger until the weekend on the West Coast. Temperatures could break daily records in Seattle, Portland and northern California on Tuesday and rise to the highest level since last year’s heat wave that killed hundreds of people across the Pacific Northwest.
Many homes in the rainy state lack air conditioning and authorities warned that indoor temperatures could build over the course of the week, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses, something Boston medical officials also warned about.
Extreme heat is fueling a fast-moving wildfire in California, near Yosemite National Park, forcing thousands of people to evacuate.
Extreme heat in the US follows extreme heat in Europe that has killed hundreds of people and caused wildfires.
Here’s an explanation of what’s causing the heatwave in the US:
What is a heatwave?
A heatwave does not have a single scientific definition. On the same subject : Londoners urged not to travel as heatwave engulfs Europe. Depending on the local climate, it can be determined by a certain number of days above the actual temperature or percentile of normal.
Here’s the #weather forecast for #Monday.– #Heat will be a concern for the Eastern, south-central U.S. and begin building in the northwest.– Major storms are possible in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.– Heavy rains may cause flooding in the southwest and Ohio Valley. pic.twitter.com/oZoTIvLLuV
— National Weather Service (@NWS) July 24, 2022
Arctic warming and jet stream migration
The Arctic is three to three times warmer than the rest of the world, meaning there is little difference between the temperature in the north and those near the equator.
This is causing circulation in the North Atlantic jet stream, which will lead to extreme weather conditions such as heat waves and floods, according to Jennifer Francis, senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. This may interest you : Chomsky is excited about why “science is not enough” to address the current state of climate change.
Heat domes
Warm oceans help heat the houses that trap heat over large areas. On the same subject : Netflix Top 10: ‘4 Strange Things’ Becomes Second Forever to Cross 1 Billion Hours. By the end of this week, warm skies will stretch from the southern plains of the Oklahoma/Arkansas region to the eastern seaboard, according to the US Weather Prediction Center.
Scientists have found the main reason for the warming of the houses is the extreme change in sea temperature from west to east in the warm Pacific Ocean last winter.
“As the prevailing winds move the warm air eastward, the northward axis of the jet stream captures the air and transports it inland, where it sinks, causing warming,” the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says on its website.
Human-influenced climate change
Climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is a global phenomenon that is playing a role in what is happening in the US, scientists say.
“Climate change is making extreme and unprecedented heat waves more frequent and frequent, across the globe,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA.
“Floods can be an unexpected type of disaster that can happen because they often kill a lot of people. And we just don’t hear about it because it doesn’t kill them inside, to put it bluntly, in dramatic ways. There are no bodies on the road.”
Francis, of the Woodwell Center, said that with climate change, the world is seeing changes in air and weather patterns “in ways that make this heat, as we are seeing now, increase, continue, and cover areas that are just like that. they are not used to having heatwaves”.
Alex Ruane, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that as the world warms, “it takes less natural heat to push us into extreme heat. Because we’re so close to those thresholds, it’s more likely that you’ll get more than one heatwave at the same time. We’re seeing this in the United States.”
Which cities are most impacted?
On Sunday, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hit 37 degrees Celsius (99 Fahrenheit) even before the wet start. Newark, New Jersey, saw its fifth consecutive day of 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) or higher, the longest since records began in 1931. Boston also hit 38 degrees, surpassing the daily record high of 37 Celsius (99 Fahrenheit) degrees set in 1933.
Have there been any deaths?
At least two heat-related deaths have been reported in the northeastern US, with officials warning of the possibility of more.
🚨 OTHER HIGHLIGHTS IN JAYI 🚨 With temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s this Sunday, in conjunction with local officials and forecasters, we made the difficult decision to shorten the run and bike portions of the NYC Triathlon and Duathlon. 1/2 continues pic.twitter.com/SqLCUsQi6t
— NYC Triathlon (@NYCTRIATHLON) July 22, 2022
Sports events cancelled or postponed
Sports events were shortened or canceled. Organizers of the New York City Triathlon cut the distances that athletes had to run and bike on Sunday. This week’s Boston Triathlon has been postponed until August 20-21.
