More than 17 million people risk exposure to dangerous temperatures thanks to a "heat dome" that has emerged in the western United States. Such a dome occurs when hot ocean air becomes trapped, forming something almost like a lid or cap that keeps temperatures broiling. Already this heat wave has been directly responsible for at least 61 deaths in Mexico, causing major power outages and killing at least 150 monkeys. Now it's moving north.
Residents of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah are predicted to experience daily temperatures 20º Fahrenheit (11.11° Celsius) or more warmer than normal for this time of year. As a result, the National Weather Service is issuing its most extreme kind of heat alert for the populations of those areas, one reserved for occasions when widespread and dangerous heat is anticipated.
Death Valley, the hottest location in the world, is expected to reach temperatures of at least 120º F. California's Central Valley is expected to reach the high 90s to low 100s, while Phoenix, Arizona will experience temperatures as high as 110º, unusual for that area this early in the year.
Scientists are already seeing evidence of climate change pushing the planet's boundaries. In 2023 alone, climate change broke records for hottest summer, global surface temperature, ocean heat content and ice melt. By 2024, the accelerating heat and heat-related problems prompted Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, to issue a statement saying that humanity is living "already on borrowed time." Dr. Twila Moon, the deputy lead scientist and science communication liaison at the NSIDC, similarly said that humanity is "already in uncharted territory," adding that "extreme and record-setting weather events are happening more often, impacting local communities [and] international economics."
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