(Reuters) – More than 100 million people across the United States were under temperature warnings on Sunday, as cities on the East Coast braced for record temperatures as a heat dome causing dangerous conditions expanded to the West Coast.
Temperatures in Baltimore and Philadelphia are expected to reach record highs near 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) on Sunday, while temperatures will rise into the 90s Fahrenheit in states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, as much as 15 degrees above normal for the time. Of the year. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the extreme heat will then move into Nebraska and Kansas on Monday.
Officials are warning of dangerous conditions in the Philadelphia area, where high humidity can send heat indexes soaring above 105 F (41 C), making it hotter than the actual temperature.
“This likely means we will see periodic periods of extreme heat across much of the country through July,” NWS meteorologist Mark Chenard said. “It is not continuous at any one point, but the overall pattern will continue to favor higher than normal temperatures.”
Temperatures fell in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and New England regions, but extreme heat in the 90s continued to extend from Virginia to New York.
Climate change is causing dangerous heatwaves across the Northern Hemisphere this week and will continue to provide dangerous weather for decades to come, research shows.
The extreme heat is suspected to have caused the deaths of hundreds of people across Asia and Europe, taking hold of cities on four continents. More than a thousand people died during the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, amid sweltering temperatures this year, according to a Reuters tally.
In New Mexico, officials are responding to multiple weather events, including a dust storm, flooding and two wildfires.
Last week, the Biden administration declared a state of emergency due to the wildfires that killed two people and destroyed more than 1,400 buildings.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for the fires. The fires have 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.
On Saturday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster declaration covering 21 counties due to flooding caused by heavy rains in the northwestern part of the state. On Saturday, Rock Valley officials ordered some residents to evacuate with the help of the National Guard, local media reported.
A flood warning has also been issued for southern Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota.