An intense heat wave that has enveloped the southern U.S. for the past four weeks has spread to the Great Plains, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast regions of the country, putting about 190 million Americans under heat alerts, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Extreme heat is expected to persist until Saturday, with forecasts indicating that Friday and Saturday will be the hottest days of the summer so far for millions in the Northeast.
The NWS stated that heat and humidity will increase in New York City until Saturday, with parts of the city reaching temperatures of 102F (39C).
On Thursday, Phoenix recorded its 28th consecutive day of temperatures hitting at least 110F (43.3C).
El Paso, Texas, recorded its 42nd consecutive day of temperatures at or above 100F (37.7C), and Miami recorded its 46th consecutive day with a heat index of 100F or more.
Amid the record heat wave, Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday (27) a formal heat risk alert, reaffirming the protections that workers have against heat as the government formulates a new workplace standard for heat-related illnesses.
Biden noted that about 600 people die from extreme heat each year – “more than from floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes in America combined.”
“Even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen this much heat for so long,” he said. “Even those who deny we are in the midst of a climate crisis cannot deny the impact of extreme heat on Americans.”
July 2023 has been declared by scientists as the hottest month ever recorded in the world and likely the hottest month in the last 100,000 years.
Meteorologists say that warming will only worsen in the future due to the climate crisis.