In the United States, more than 100 million Americans are on heat alert, according to government website heat.gov: Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California face potentially dangerous conditions with record-breaking temperatures in the coming days. At the same time, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are also facing a major heat wave. According to the European Space Agency, mercury is expected to rise to 48ºC on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, “potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe”.
The consequences
The United States is burning, Uruguay is dry and South Korea is hit by torrential rains, while Canada is still threatened by fires. From searing heat to unprecedented flooding, extreme weather threatens the lives of millions from Los Angeles to Seoul. In the US, the alert has been sounded for 113 million Americans in the southern and western states as temperatures will never drop below 43 degrees for the next few days. For the fifth straight day over 40, some residents of Phoenix, Arizona, have posted photos to social media of tar melting on rooftops and eggs cooking in the sun as if on a stove.
Record heat, the Times: “Rome is hell”. The Guardian: ‘Unprecedented Temperatures’
In Texas, the city of El Paso entered its 27th day topping 37.7 degrees and California’s famed Death Valley is expected to hit 54 this week, an all-time record for one of the hottest places on earth. Parks, museums, zoos and businesses in every state hit by the heatwave have closed or changed their hours, and hospitals have seen a surge in admissions for heat-related illnesses. Local authorities have warned the population to go outside and avoid physical activity outdoors.
Alert in the United States
In Las Vegas, where the temperature could reach an all-time high of 47 degrees in the coming days, the local weather service warned on Twitter that “this is not usual desert heat and should be taken very seriously.” The White House has announced the launch of a “national heat strategy”. “Millions of Americans are being affected by extreme heat waves that are increasing in intensity, frequency and duration because of climate change,” Joe Biden said in a statement. On the opposite coast of the United States, Vermont is instead still grappling with the effects of the devastating rains that killed one in recent days. Biden has declared a state of emergency and new storms are expected earlier this week.
Heavy rains in South Korea
South Korea was also hit by torrential rains, causing floods and landslides, leaving at least 24 dead and 10 missing. In contrast, more than half of Uruguay’s 3.5 million people lack access to clean tap water after three straight years of drought nearly depleted freshwater reservoirs. A scourge in one of the richest countries in South America, where, according to a survey last May, 35% of the population has stopped drinking water. The government has slashed prices for the mineral and arranged for 500,000 bottles to be distributed in the hardest-hit areas. And there are still nearly 1,000 active fires in Canada, while the megafires of the past few weeks are estimated to have burned more than 10 million hectares, a record number compared to the 7.3 million hectares burned in 1989.
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