Heat wave in the US: Las Vegas to record temperatures above 115 degrees for fifth consecutive day

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas recorded temperatures of 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) or higher for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday. The summer months are getting longer The storm is expected to bring intense heat across much of the US through the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

The temperature reached 115 degrees at Harry Reid International Airport at 1:13 p.m., breaking the old record for four consecutive days. On Sunday, the heat wave set Las Vegas’ all-time record of 120 F (48.8 C).

Even by desert standards, the prolonged heat that Nevada’s largest city is experiencing is nearly unprecedented.

“This is the most intense heat wave in the history of record keeping in Las Vegas since 1937,” said John Adair, a three-decade veteran meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in southern Nevada.

Keith Bailey and Lee Doss met at a Las Vegas park Wednesday morning to escape the heat and exercise their dogs Brecky, Ollie and Stanley.

“If I don’t get out by 8:30 a.m., it’s not going to be possible that day,” Bailey said, wearing a sunhat while the dogs played in the grass.

Alice Soboson said this July has been the hottest in the 15 years she has lived in Las Vegas. A counselor at a school over summer break, Soboson said she doesn’t go outside during the day if she can, and waits until 9 p.m. or later to walk her dogs.

“It’s so hot here,” she said. “It’s like you can’t really live your life.”

Health officials have stressed that it’s too hot. There have been at least nine heat-related deaths this year in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, according to the county coroner’s office. But officials say the death toll could be higher.

“Even healthy-looking people of average age can suffer from heat illness when it’s so hot that your body has a hard time cooling itself off,” said Alexis Brignola, epidemiologist for the Southern Nevada Health District.

The intense heat wave across large parts of the US has also led to record daily temperatures. high temperature In Oregon, where the drug is suspected in eight deaths, the state medical examiner’s office said. 142 million Heat alerts were issued for people across the United States on Wednesday, especially in western states.

On the other side of the country, the National Weather Service warned of the risk of severe heat for parts of the East Coast.

Excessive heat warnings remained in place Wednesday for the Philadelphia area, northern Delaware and nearly all of New Jersey. Temperatures were around 90 F (32.2 C) across much of the region, and forecasters warned the heat index could rise to 108 F (42.2 C). The warning was set to expire at 8 p.m. Wednesday, though forecasters said it might need to be extended.

Heat broke or equaled previous records in dozens of locations across the West over the weekend and is expected to continue through the week, although the heat may be coming to an end in some areas.

It was hot. held responsible for motorcyclist’s death Over the weekend at Death Valley National Park. In Death Valley on Tuesday, tourists lined up to pose for photos in front of a giant thermometer that read 120 F (48.9 C).

Simon Pell and Lisa Gregory of London left their air-conditioned RV to experience the kind of afternoon heat they couldn’t imagine at home.

“I don’t need a thermometer to tell me it’s hot,” Pell said. “You hear about it in stories and wildlife documentaries. But just for myself, I wanted to experience what it would feel like. … It’s an incredible experience.”

High temperatures also reached record highs in parts of Oregon and Washington on Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 103 F (39.4 C) in Portland and 105 F (40.5 C) in Salem and Eugene.

The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed two new suspected heat-related deaths Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths during the heat wave to eight. One of them was an 83-year-old man in Washington County and the other was a 72-year-old man in Multnomah County. Seven of the dead were men and one was a woman. The youngest person was 33, but all of the others were 64 or older.

The National Park Service was investigating the third hiker death in recent weeks at the Grand Canyon, where temperatures can reach 120 F (49 C) in the shade on parts of some trails. Passersby and medical staff unsuccessfully attempted CPR on a 50-year-old man on Sunday, the park service said.

Excessive heat warnings remained in place for many parts of southern and central Arizona on Wednesday. Weather forecasters said the maximum temperature in Phoenix was expected to reach 114 F (45.5 C), while it reached 116 F (46.6 C) on Tuesday, equaling the previous record for the date set in 1958.

In Marana, Arizona, near Tucson, authorities were investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl who was left alone in a vehicle Tuesday afternoon where temperatures reached 111 F (43.8 C). Police Capt. Tim Brunenkant said the car had apparently been left running and the air conditioning was on, but it was unclear how long the girl had been alone.

A 4-month-old baby died Friday of heat-related complications after he fainted during a boating trip at Lake Havasu, Arizona, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Department said. Temperatures that day reached 120 F (48.8 C).

The heat wave in the US comes at a time when global temperatures were record hot in June. 13th consecutive month The European climate service Copernicus said it was the 12th consecutive month when the world was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than in pre-industrial times. Scientists say most of this heat trapped by human-caused climate change is from long-term warming from greenhouse gases emitted by the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.

In Las Vegas, hotels and casinos keep their visitors cool with large AC units. But for homeless residents and others without access to a safe environment, officials have set up emergency cooling centers at community centers across Southern Nevada.

Last week, firefighters in Henderson, Nevada, became the first firefighters in the area to use “polar pods,” which are used to cool down a person exhibiting symptoms of heat stroke or a related medical emergency, according to city spokesperson Madeleine Skanes.

Skanes said four vehicles in the city of more than 330,000 residents are equipped with equipment that is similar to units used previously. a month ago in PhoenixThese can be filled with water and ice so that the patient can be immersed in cold water while being taken to the hospital.

Extreme heat in the western region has also caused vegetation to dry out, leading to increased incidence of forest fires.

A new fire in Oregon, called the Larch Creek Fire, quickly spread to more than 5 square miles (12 square kilometers) after flames ignited in grasslands in Wasco County on Tuesday evening. Remote homes were ordered to be evacuated.

In California, firefighters were battling at least 19 wildfires on Wednesday, including a 45-square-mile (117-square-kilometer) blaze that prompted evacuation orders for about 200 homes in the mountains of Santa Barbara County.

,

Associated Press journalists Rio Yamat (in Las Vegas), Anita Snow (in Phoenix), Scott Sonner and Gabe Stern (in Reno, Nevada), Christopher Weber and John Antczak (in Los Angeles), Martha Belisle (in Seattle) and Bruce Shipkowski (in Toms River, New Jersey) contributed to this report.