31 million under heat alerts as US West swelters; Death Valley temperature 54°C

NEW YORK: Much of the West is facing further recordbreaking temperatures over the coming days with over 31 million people in areas under excessive heat warnings or heat advisories. It is the third heat wave to sweep the region this summer. In Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert, temperatures soared to 130°F (54°C) on both Friday and Saturday and was forecast to hit the same peak on Sunday. If confirmed as accurate, the 130-degree reading would be the hottest high recorded there since July 1913, when Furnace Creek desert hit 134°F (57°C), considered the highest measured temperature on Earth.
The extreme temperatures that scorched the Pacific Northwest in late June led to nearly 200 deaths in Oregon and Washington, as people struggled to keep cool in poorly air-conditioned homes, on the street, and in fields and warehouses. The same “heat dome” effect that enveloped the Northwest — in which hot, dry ground traps heat and accelerates rising temperatures has descended on California and parts of the Southwest this weekend. Sarah Rogowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said daytime highs between 100°F (37.7°C) and 120°F
(48.8°C) were hitting parts of California. Most dangerously, temperatures will remain high into the night, hovering 15 to 25 degrees above average.
The record-shattering temperatures in the Pacific Northwest last week would have been all but impossible without climate change, according to researchers. Because climate change has raised baseline temperatures nearly 2°F on average since 1900, heat waves are likely to be hotter and deadlier than those in past centuries, scientists said. Excessiveheat warnings blanket most of California, along with parts of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Oregon and Idaho. Las Vegas on Saturday tied the all-time record high of 117°F (47°C), the National Weather Service said. The city has seen record-high temperature four other times, most recently in June 2017.