![]() ![]() At home, vulnerable communities might lack adequate air conditioning. People of color and low-income residents bear a higher burden from heat, whether because of their occupation or living in close proximity to heat exacerbating industries and heat-trapping highways. Unrelenting heat presents particular health and safety risks to older adults, young children, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions and outdoor workers. On Thursday, an Oregon county filed a lawsuit against fossil fuel companies, arguing that the oil and gas companies are accountable for the heatwave. In 2021, 69 people in Oregon died from heat caused by a heat dome. In Jackson, Mississippi, residents reported not having power and air conditioning for nearly 100 hours, NBC reports.Īn average of 702 heat related deaths happen in the US each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Emergency crews in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, region have responded to a record number of calls owing to the heat and lack of power, according to the New York Times. “Human-caused climate change made these conditions more than five times more likely.”Įarlier this week, Texas’s power utility urged users to cut back on air conditioning to alleviate the stress on the grid. ![]() We are seeing a really intense, wide-spread, and long-lasting event,” said Andrew Pershing, director of climate science at non-profit Climate Central. “These conditions are very stressful to the people living in the region. It's even more astonishing when you consider it's mid June! This configuration, likely enhanced by climate heating, is fueling a record heat dome so extreme that even experts are astonished! /GPbd0rjpst- Jeff Berardelli June 20, 2023 WFLA-TV chief meteorologist Jeff Berardelli tweeted last week that this heat dome, "likely enhanced by climate heating, is fueling a record heat dome so extreme that even experts are astonished!" He added that the heat dome is “basically impossible” without climate change.When I look at this jet stream the word insane comes to mind. "The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and animals below to suffer through stagnant, hot air that can feel like an oven," Gallus said in an article in The Conversation. What is a heat dome?Ī heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area, according to William Gallus, professor of atmospheric science at Iowa State University. This cauldron of misery is courtesy of a sprawling heat dome that has parked itself over portions of Texas and Mexico this month, sending temperatures skyrocketing. The heat index, which is how hot it feels to the human body when humidity is factored in, reached an unofficial record of 125 degrees in Corpus Christi. Several Texas cities set or tied all-time record-high temperatures: Del Rio (115 degrees), Laredo (115 degrees) and San Angelo (114 degrees). In all, as of Monday, more than 45 million Americans live where some level of heat alert is in effect, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Scot Pilie warned on Twitter that more temperature records could topple, leading to dangerous heat index values. – many of them in Texas – have endured a brutal heat wave over the past couple of weeks as temperatures soared to record levels, including some above 110 degrees.įorecasters expect the intense heat to continue in Texas for much of this week in and expand north into the Plains and east into the Southeast. Tens of millions of Americans across the south and central U.S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |