(Washington) Large parts of the central and eastern United States are bracing for a sweltering heat wave next week, with temperatures expected to be unusually high for June.
“Temperatures will soar next week from the Midwest to the northeast” of the country, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Friday on X, saying it expected “several dozen records” for daily heat.
This wave is expected to begin Sunday in the center then spread across the Midwest and Northeast before Tuesday, and will last most of the week, according to the NWS.
“Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths most years. Take it seriously,” the weather service warned.
The capital Washington has already activated its “heat emergency” alert for this Friday, said Mayor Muriel Bowser, and “extreme temperatures are forecast for next week.”
The mercury could thus rise to 38 degrees on June 23.
Several other large cities will be affected, from Chicago to New York.
According to scientists, repeated heatwaves are an unequivocal marker of global warming and these heat waves are expected to further multiply, lengthen and intensify.