Across North America, dangerous heat and thick wildfire smoke are marching.
Across North America, dangerous heat and thick wildfire smoke are marching.
In recent days, at least 15 people have died in the United States, thousands more have fallen ill, schools have been closed, and basic services that are still unprepared for the new dangers of summer have been put to the test. This treacherous combination of heat and fire, exacerbated by the burning of oil and gas, scorched a large portion of North America on Thursday.
It’s only June, though.
The heat index, which is a measurement of temperature and humidity, rose above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas of the United States due to a heat dome that extended from Texas to Florida and as far north as the tip of Missouri.
No relief was in sight right away. In most of the region, temperatures were expected to increase by 15 to 20 degrees over average through the weekend.
A fresh heat dome was anticipated to develop over California in the coming days. The Weather Service has issued high heat advisories for Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley, an area where thousands of farmworkers toil outdoors for long periods of time.
Numerous fires continued to burn throughout Canada, attracting 1,500 firefighters from all over the world.
As wildfire smoke from other areas of Canada covered Toronto and quickly moved south, enveloping the Eastern United States in a toxic soup, the city’s air quality briefly reached record lows. The National Gallery in Washington, D.C., decided to close its outdoor sculpture garden “due to air quality.”
As a result of temperatures reaching 113 degrees Fahrenheit in Monterrey, the state capital, schools in Nuevo León state, in northern Mexico, were closed on Thursday, about a month earlier than expected. Samuel Garca Seplveda, the governor, said, “We determined it wasn’t worth risking their health to care for children, who are a priority.
The events of the last week, according to Kim Cobb, a climate scientist and the head of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, reflected the “multiple stressors linked to man-made climate change” that the UN has previously warned about. If there was ever a time to pause and reassess the trajectory of our fossil fuel emissions, this is it, she declared.
The greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuels exacerbate both excessive heat and wildfires. These pollutants can worsen the dryness that feeds devastating wildfires in addition to escalating heat waves that might naturally occur.
The world’s temperatures in June rose to their highest levels in decades as a result of two factors: climate change brought on by the buildup of heat-trapping petrol emissions, and the return of the El Nio climate pattern after a three-year hiatus. That, according to forecasters, could start a prolonged stretch of intense heat.
The forecast for the heat index, a gauge of how hot it actually feels, slipped into the “extreme caution” or “danger” categories for about half of the United States. Because the air is so saturated with moisture from a person’s skin, there is nowhere for it to evaporate, which is necessary for cooling down, humid air might prevent the body from cooling effectively.
This week’s high overnight temperatures in the South and Midwest will make it more difficult for the human body to have a chance to cool down, heightening the hazard.
Workers fixing a sewer line in downtown Jackson, Miss., took turns working in the sun for 30-minute intervals at lunchtime while taking breaks beneath a tree in between. On Thursday, the heat index in the area reached 113. Cody Adams, a worker for the infrastructure firm Miller Pipeline, advised everyone to seek out some shade. “Before you go outside, drink a lot of water. It is scorching outside.
According to forecasters, extremely dangerous heat stress is predicted to last through Saturday in Jackson, raising the possibility of heat stroke with extended outdoor exertion.
