STORY: :: Arizonans try to stay cool as ‘heat dome’ spreads
Temperatures in the Southwest will reach well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit
:: June 7, 2024
:: Phoenix, Arizona
“It’s dry heat and it feels like you’re in an oven. You set the oven to 120 degrees, open it up and stick your head in. That’s Arizona. It’s dry, there’s minimal humidity and there’s no escape.”
“At first you feel a bit tired, you start to sweat, and then eventually you feel a bit sick. It’s different for everyone. But usually you start to feel sick, and if you don’t address it, you end up on the floor.”
“It’s really hot. Sometimes when I go outside I feel like I can’t breathe. It’s unbearable for me.”
About 31 million people from Northern California to Arizona in the south and Texas in the east were under heat warnings and advisories issued by the National Weather Service through Saturday.
On Wednesday (June 6), temperatures reached a high of 113 degrees Fahrenheit. At the Trump event, several people were seen being carried off on stretchers with heat exhaustion after waiting in line for hours in the extreme heat.
Phoenix was one of several Southwestern cities that experienced its hottest summer on record in 2023. The Arizona capital endured 55 consecutive days of record-breaking temperatures above 110 degrees. 645 people died from heatstroke in the Phoenix area last summer.
