(Reuters) – More than 100 million people in the United States were under heat warnings on Sunday, with cities on the East Coast bracing for record temperatures as the heat dome causing dangerous conditions expands to the West Coast.
Baltimore and Philadelphia are forecast to reach record highs near 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, while temperatures rise to 90 F in states such as Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, up to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. Extreme heat will then move into Nebraska and Kansas on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Authorities are warning about dangerous conditions in the Philadelphia region, where high humidity can push heat indexes above 105 F (41 C), making it feel even hotter than the actual temperature.
“This likely means we will see periodic periods of excessive heat across a decent portion of the country through July,” said NWS meteorologist Marc Chenard. “It’s not continuous at any point, but the overall pattern will continue to favor above-normal temperatures.”
Temperatures have cooled in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and New England regions, but excessive heat in the 30s continues to extend from Virginia to New York.
Climate change is causing dangerous heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere this week and will continue to cause dangerous weather conditions for decades to come, research shows.
The extreme heat is suspected of causing hundreds of deaths in Asia and Europe as it engulfed cities on four continents. More than 1,000 died during Haj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, amid sweltering temperatures this year, according to a Reuters tally.
In New Mexico, authorities are responding to several weather events, including a dust storm, flooding and two wildfires.
The Biden administration last week declared an emergency due to the wildfires, which have been responsible for two deaths and more than 1,400 destroyed structures.
The FBI has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for the fires. The flames burned 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares) around the village of Ruidoso, according to the government wildfire tracking website Inciweb.
While excessive heat is causing problems in many states, other states are also facing flooding.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Saturday issued a disaster proclamation covering 21 counties due to flooding caused by heavy rain in the northwestern part of the state. Rock Valley officials on Saturday ordered some residents to evacuate with help from the National Guard, local news outlets reported.
A flood warning is also in effect for southern Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota.
(Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
