Published 2023-07-16 23:46
The extreme heat is hitting the southwestern United States and almost a third of the country’s population.
Temperatures above 43 degrees have been measured in the city of Phoenix for the sixteenth day in a row.
– We don’t want the dogs’ paws to be burned, says dog keeper Cooper Burton.
The heat is not only hitting southern Europe. In the United States, more than 100 million, nearly a third of the population, have been affected by extreme heat. And the heat is the weather that claims the most lives – more than the country’s floods, tornadoes or extreme cold, according to data from the US National Weather Service.
The state of Arizona is especially vulnerable. In Phoenix, the temperature has been above 43 degrees for sixteen days straight. The forecast for Sunday’s temperatures is close to 48 degrees. If the heat stays above 43 degrees until Tuesday, the city can break its heat record from 1974 – when the temperature was above 43.3 degrees for 18 days in a row.
“Don’t want the paws to burn”
According to the municipality of Maricopa, deaths related to heat stroke have increased significantly in recent years. From 338 in 2021 to last year’s 425.
So far have this year, 12 people have died as a result of high temperatures in Phoenix. A further 55 are being investigated.
“The record heat continues through the region today and much of next week,” the Phoenix Meteorological Institute said on Sunday.
The heat has made the sidewalks and streets so hot that dog walker Cooper Burton doesn’t want to take his dogs out after nine in the morning.
– We don’t want their paws to be burned, says Cooper Burton to Reuters.
To meet the high temperatures, approximately 200 hydration stations have been set up around the city. The stations offer water bottles and cooling centers where thousands will be able to cool down in air-conditioned libraries, churches and offices.
Worst for the homeless
Homeless people in the city have it worst. According to David Hondula, heating manager for the city of Phoenix, only one home in the city is open 24 hours a day. In the past, the city has been able to offer more places to spend the night, but not this year.
Stacy Champion, who works with the rights of the homeless, has taken to Twitter to criticize the few opportunities to stay overnight in Phoenix.
– If you don’t have an air-conditioned place to sleep, you’re out of luck, she wrote in her criticism Twitter.
Tough in the neighboring states
Similar conditions are reported from Texas in the south to California in the west with air-conditioned public spaces opened to the public.
In Las Vegas, the city’s casino offers a respite from the heat as the city looks set to break its heat record of 47.2 degrees this week. The warmest is expected to be in Death Valley in California with 54.4 degrees.
A series of wildfires have broken out in Southern California over the weekend, burning more than 3,000 hectares of terrain. One man was injured and sent to hospital.
Evacuation orders have been issued for several areas in the state.
The politicians are questioned on TV
Several politicians and government officials were questioned on American television on Sunday as a result of the country’s extreme heat. On CNN’s State of the Union program, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly referred to his observations as a former astronaut.
– When I was in space, I could see the atmosphere. It is as thin as a contact lens and we have to work harder to take care of it, he said in the program.
When asked if people should be offered similar aid packages to those given out during tornadoes or floods, he said:
– That could be a way forward, said Mark Kelly on CNN.
He continued:
– We must continue our work towards reducing the amount of carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere.
China and the US meet: “No success expected”
The world’s two largest emitters of carbon dioxide, China and the USA, are meeting today in Beijing for a restart of the climate negotiations. The ongoing negotiations between the nations – which together emit almost 40 percent of the world’s total carbon dioxide – have been frozen since Russia invaded Ukraine.
US Climate Secretary John Kerry is the third US top politician to visit the country after Joe Biden tried to warm the chilly relations with Beijing.
According to experts, no major successes are expected during the climate negotiations, but believe that the symbolic act is powerful. In an interview with CNN in May, Kerry said:
– What we are trying to do is to establish some kind of stability in the relationship. I will not go there with concessions, said Kerry.