- author, Rachel Lucker
- role, BBC News, Washington
-
As tens of millions of people across the Southwestern U.S. suffered record triple-digit temperatures, firefighters were on standby to submerge heatstroke victims in ice and some popular hiking trails were closed in Arizona.
Extreme heat warnings have been issued for parts of California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas, two weeks before summer officially begins, and forecasters don’t see any cooling in temperatures over the next few days.
Temperatures on Wednesday were expected to reach 109F (42.7C) in Phoenix, 107F in Las Vegas, 110F in Palm Springs and 119F in Death Valley, California.
The National Weather Service (NWS) announced that by the end of the day, Americans in the region could experience the “hottest” weather since last September, according to the Associated Press.
The temperature spike is due to a heat dome, an area of high pressure that pushes down and traps hot air, causing temperatures to soar over a wide area.
Temperatures will be 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average for this time of year, according to the NWS.
In Arizona, America’s hottest big city, firefighters placed at least one heatstroke victim in a man-sized immersion bag filled with ice to cool him down on the way to a hospital.
All Phoenix Fire Department vehicles are equipped with the bags.
In Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, 645 people died from heatstroke last year.
The city will open two night-time cooling stations for the first time this week.
The NWS predicted temperatures in the Grand Canyon could reach 111 degrees Fahrenheit and advised hikers who are outdoors for extended periods in low-lying areas to take extra caution.
Excessive heat has led Arizona officials to close popular hiking trails on Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak.
Forecasters predict temperatures in Las Vegas could reach 112 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday.
Temperatures across the state are expected to range from 102 to 115 degrees.
Image source, Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
Activists say the heat, with temperatures reaching triple digits, is particularly dangerous for people without homes, increasing demand for temperature-controlled shelters.
Philip Scharf, CEO of Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), told BBC News on Wednesday that the organization has the capacity to house 600 people experiencing homelessness if temperatures reach those levels.
And the need is acute at the moment, he said.
“With the extreme heat outside, more people are seeking services and their behavior is changing,” Scarfe said.
With record heat continuing, people are not only looking for a place to sleep, but also a place to stay during the day, he said.
CASS, the largest single shelter in Arizona, provides shelter, water, food and more to residents in the Phoenix area.
The service is much needed in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, where homeless and low-income people make up the largest proportion of heatstroke deaths.
In San Angelo, Texas, the temperature reached 111 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, the fifth-warmest temperature ever recorded in the city, according to the local NWS office.
The heat warning was expected to remain in effect until late Friday.
The extreme temperatures are expected to spread north into the Pacific Northwest by the weekend.
