(Washington) An “extreme heat” wave hit tens of millions of Americans this weekend, with many temperature records expected in the Central and Northeast, while a major wildfire affected California .
Posted at 12:32 p.m.
“Extreme heat will continue across the central United States and spread to the Northeast this weekend, with many temperature records expected to be set today. [samedi] and Sunday across the region,” the National Weather Service (NWS) announced.
“This heat will fuel severe weather across the northern Midwest today [samedi]with a significant threat of damaging winds, large hailstones and a few tornadoes”, continues the NWS on its bulletin.
The sweltering heat, which shows the threat posed by global warming, was particularly felt in the capital Washington, where temperatures could flirt with the symbolic bar of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 to 38 degrees Celsius). New York was not spared, with temperatures close to 35 degrees.
PHOTO NATHAN HOWARD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nicole Brown wipes her face on the National Mall in Washington on July 22.
The temperature could also reach 43 degrees in parts of Utah (West), Arizona (South) and the Northeast, according to NWS.
In Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu has declared a “state of heat-related emergency”, providing for the opening of municipal places to cool off and swimming pools open longer, it could be 37 degrees on Sunday.
This heat increases the risk of fire. In the western United States, a major forest fire, Oak Fire, broke out on Friday in Mariposa County, near Yosemite National Park, whose giant sequoias had already been threatened by fire a while ago. ten days.
PHOTO NOAH BERGER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A house was engulfed in flames in Mariposa County, California on July 23.
Spread over an area of more than 2500 hectares, Oak Fire has already destroyed ten properties and damaged five others. It is not under control at all, according to a bulletin Saturday morning from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The American West has already experienced forest fires of exceptional magnitude and intensity in recent years, with a very marked lengthening of the fire season.
The planet has already recorded several heat waves this year, such as in July in Western Europe or in India in March-April. Their multiplication is an unmistakable sign of climate change, according to scientists.
In June 2021, an extremely rare “heat dome” wreaked havoc across the west coast of the United States and Canada, killing more than 500 people and causing major fires, with temperatures approaching 50 degrees.