A long-running heat wave that has already shattered previous records across the U.S. persisted on Sunday, baking parts of the West with dangerous temperatures that caused the death of a motorcyclist in Death Valley and held the East in its hot and humid grip.

An excessive heat warning — the National Weather Service’s highest alert — was in effect for about 36 million people, or about 10% of the population, said NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson. Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest tied or broke previous heat records.

Many areas in Northern California surpassed 110 degrees (43.3 C), with the city of Redding topping out at a record 119 (48.3 C). Phoenix set a new daily record Sunday for the warmest low temperature: it never got below 92 F (33.3 C).

A high temperature of 128 F (53.3 C) was recorded Saturday and Sunday at Death Valley National Park in eastern California, where a visitor died Saturday from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized, officials said.

      • otp@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        4 months ago

        I’ve read that it probably won’t be, since we had El Niño this year too, making the year hotter than it otherwise would’ve been.

        It’s not going to be fun next year when we’re not breaking quite as many heat records, and then we’ve got people saying “See? Last year was just a fluke. Climate change isn’t a big deal!”

        • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          4 months ago

          Most likely, yeah, but then that’s only going to last for a few years at most. If you look at it in groups of 5 years together or so, I don’t think it ever has been colder since like the 90s maybe. Or early 00s.

          • otp@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            4 months ago

            I don’t disagree one bit. I don’t think most people have that level of scientific literacy, though…let alone reading comprehension.

            (Okay, “most” might not be the right word, but still…lol)

        • Optional@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          4 months ago

          Remind me one year! Or, y’know, - is that feature even in lemmy? Eh, whatever. We’ll see. :)

  • MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    45
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    According to Ron DeSantis, none of this is happening. And if it is happening, it’s not because of climate change.

  • samus12345@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    27
    ·
    4 months ago

    You’re really asking for it if you go to Death Valley during a heat wave. It’s in the name.

  • Steve@communick.news
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    25
    ·
    4 months ago

    How long does it take, to stop being a “wave”, and just become the new “high tied” of summer?

    • Optional@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      14
      ·
      4 months ago

      Journalists have to accept that climate change is real and republiQans who work agains solutions are working to kill us.

      Let us know when that happens

    • kescusay@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      4 months ago

      The thing is, this isn’t a new normal. Climate change is still happening and will keep happening as long as we keep refusing to migrate off of fossil fuels. It will be hotter next year. And then hotter the year after. And then hotter. And then hotter. And then fucking hotter. It won’t stop until enough of us literally die off to start mitigating it.

  • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    4 months ago

    I see all these “heat advisories” being issued where I live and elsewhere, for temperatures around 98-100 F. How much you want to bet in a few years those temps won’t be classified as heat advisories anymore, and it will be because corporate lobbyists managed to keep heat protections away from U.S. workers dying in the heat.

  • SeaJ@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    We hit a record here in Seattle yesterday and are likely to tie one today. It’s usually in the high 70s at this time. It will be around 95°F today. Tomorrow will be hotter and likely set another record. Get to a cooling center if you don’t have AC. I honestly do not recall cooking centers being a thing prior to for our five years ago.

    • cmbabul@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      4 months ago

      My dad back in Georgia called me yesterday because he saw on the weather channel that we hit 90 and he thought that a tad odd. I told him that this is in some ways more brutal than summer in Atlanta because at least all those buildings have industrial central air. I’ve got two portable units running just to keep my bedroom bearable

  • HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    4 months ago

    where im at has been alright but the upcoming times does not look good. Im sorta hoping beryl disrupts things as it turns into storms overland without somehow raising humidity.