HomeWorldThe southern United States hit by a dangerous heat wave

The southern United States hit by a dangerous heat wave

Millions of Americans are under extreme heat alerts in Texas or Louisiana, with temperatures often exceeding 40°C.

A heat wave is hitting the southern United States, especially Texas and Louisiana, with “dangerous” temperatures expected to last several more days and in which experts point to the role of global warming.

With summer just beginning, millions of Americans are under extreme heat alerts, with temperatures often exceeding 40°C.

“More intense, longer and probably longer too”

The episode also affects parts of New Mexico, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and northern Florida. Global warming is responsible for the multiplication and intensification of heat waves in the world, scientists have been hammering for years.

“This heat wave is more intense, more widespread and probably also longer” than it would have been without the impact of human activities, said Andrew Pershing, vice president in charge of science at the NGO ClimateCentral.

Preliminary analysis by this organization determined that current temperatures were at least five times more likely due to climate change.

In New Orleans, Louisiana, a heat alert was issued from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. In Houston, the fourth largest city in the country with 2.3 million inhabitants, refreshment centers have been opened so that fragile people can take refuge there.

The physiology of people “not yet adapted”

Roads were damaged due to heat and workers were busy on Tuesday to repair them.

“We can’t keep up,” one of them, Víctor Hugo Martínez, 57, told Houston. “There are too many, we have 10 or 12 places like that” currently, he said. He and his colleagues are careful to stay hydrated and take regular breaks, he explained.

“Some places in Texas have temperatures that have been above 100 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two weeks, which is very unusual for this time of year, even in an area that used to get hot,” Andrew Pershing said.

“What worries us particularly is that because it started so early, people’s physiology had not yet adapted,” added the scientist, who pointed out that the first heat waves of the year are usually the deadliest.

Extreme temperatures through the weekend

“Drink plenty of water, stay in air-conditioned rooms, shade, and check on your family and neighbors,” the US Weather Service (NWS) said, calling conditions “dangerously hot.”

They also recommended wearing light clothing and rescheduling strenuous activities at the beginning or end of the day. “Anyone suffering from heat should be transported to a cool, shady place. Heat stroke is an emergency!” they added.

These extreme temperatures have already lasted for days, but are gradually spreading eastward and are expected to last through the weekend.

The small town of Del Rio in Texas, on the border with Mexico, broke its heat record for eight consecutive days, reaching around 43C on Sunday, according to local weather services.

High energy demand

At the end of last week, in the south of the State, the Big Bend National Park announced the death of two people who were hiking when the temperature was 48°C. A 14-year-old boy lost consciousness and died, along with his father, in a car accident as he was leaving to get help. Animals suffer too: Twelve cats and one dog were found dead in an abandoned apartment, according to the Humane Society of Houston

The agency in charge of managing most of the power grid in Texas, Ercot, warned that power demand was higher due to the heat, but said it hoped it could cope.

“Air conditioning can literally save lives,” said Kristina Dahl of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “But if we don’t run this air conditioning with renewable energy, we contribute to releasing more emissions into the atmosphere, which will increase the heat even more.”

This is a real “challenge,” he said, especially since few people on the planet are equipped with air conditioning today, but its use should “explode in the coming decades.” According to her, the current heat wave in the south of the country is emblematic: “it is exactly what is expected in a world that is heating up.”

Author: HG with AFP
Source: BFM TV

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