U.S. East Coast faces "life-threatening conditions" from extreme heat
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A 3-year-old cools off beside a fire hydrant on Tuesday during hot weather in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City during the third heat wave of the season. Photo: Adam Gray/Getty Images
Fourteen state attorneys general are pressing for extreme heat and wildfire smoke to be eligible for major disaster declarations, as dangerously high temperatures envelop eastern and central U.S. states.
The big picture: Heat alerts affected over 130 million people, as the National Weather Service warned of "widespread record high minimum temperatures" on Wednesday morning, stretching from the Lower Mississippi Valley, across the South, Southeast and along much of the East Coast.
- "This will exacerbate the effects from the current very hot conditions as little overnight relief is expected," the NWS said in a forecast update.
State of play: Temperature records have tumbled since the prolonged heat wave began, and D.C. on Tuesday tied both the longest streak of consecutive days at or above 101°F, set during the Dust Bowl era of 1930.
- Heat warnings, advisories or watches were in effect across the East Coast, the South, Southern Plains and parts of the northern Great Basin and Pacific Northwest.
- Meanwhile, heat-related storms slammed Chicago and other parts of the Midwest into Tuesday and the NWS said "strong to severe thunderstorms" were possible from the central Plains to the Northeast through the evening.
- Axios' Andrew Freedman noted these were connected to the heat along a frontal boundary, where the jet stream was dividing the hot air from cooler air.
- The NWS didn't expect any more records to be broken in the Southern Plains, across the South, Southeast and East Coast, but the agency noted it would still be a "hot day" for these regions.
Threat level: "While record highs may be diminishing on Wednesday, the combination of another day of heat and high humidities will continue to produce life-threatening conditions," the NWS said.
- Urban "heat islands" that are created when roads, buildings, parking lots and similar structures "trap" heat have been boosting temperatures within 65 major U.S. cities during this heat wave, per Climate Central analysis.
What to expect: "While highs over the next few days are not expected to be record breakers, temperatures will still be anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees above average across these areas, with no end in sight for this above average temperatures regime," the NWS said.
- "Little in the way of rainfall expected, save for some scattered monsoonal showers and thunderstorms for portions of the Southwest into the Southern to Central Rockies," it added.
- "Given the dry conditions, hot temps and low relative humidities, fire risks will continue across large portions of the West over the next few days."
- Some 227 million people in the U.S. will see temperatures exceed 90°F during the next week, per Weatherbell Analytics.
Context: Studies show climate change, mostly driven by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, has greatly increased the likelihood of heat waves, causing them to be longer lasting and more intense.
- Last year was the hottest on record and NOAA data shows that 19 of the 20 warmest years on record have happened since 2000.
Go deeper: Increasingly costly heat waves present insurance challenges
Editor's note: This article has been updated with details on the storms and further context.
