The hottest July: America’s Southwest boils in the heat
Phoenix residents have suffered burns after falling on the city’s scalding roads
July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, said David Wallace-Wells in The New York Times – and for the residents of Arizona, it certainly felt like it.
Only on the last day of the month did the state’s capital, Phoenix, finally register a temperature high below 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3°C). The city’s asphalt roads reached temperatures of 180°F (82.2°C) and local burn units have been full of patients who sustained their injuries by simply falling onto the scalding ground.
Even the region’s famous saguaro cactuses are collapsing in the heat. And conditions have been similarly extreme elsewhere in the US too. There has been a rise in injuries across the Southwest from people walking outside barefoot or touching hot door handles. Meanwhile, off the Florida Keys, ocean temperatures have reached “hot-tub” levels: one sensor registered a crazy 101.1°F (38.4°C).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The dangers of extreme heat
“There is no denying that climate change is now a public health crisis,” said Leana S. Wen in The Washington Post. In the 1960s, America experienced an average of two heatwaves per year; now it’s six, and they’re getting worse. Extreme heat already kills more Americans than hurricanes or any other weather phenomenon. Some of those deaths are the result of heatstroke; others are caused by the exacerbation of underlying medical conditions.
Changing weather patterns are also leaving Americans vulnerable to more illnesses. Lyme disease, for instance, is spreading, and over the past few months there have been seven cases of locally acquired malaria in Florida and one case in Texas.
Heat waves are disasters
Federal leaders have yet to fully acknowledge this new reality, said the Los Angeles Times. No president, for instance, has ever issued an emergency or major disaster declaration for extreme heat. That needs to change. Federal disaster relief would provide local governments with much-needed funds to offset the costs of heat-related medical emergencies and to better protect themselves against future heatwaves.
Summer is supposed to be blissful, said Scott Simon on NPR. “School is out. Vacations are planned. We can go coatless, feel carefree.” But in the past few years, it has become a “season to fear”, with festivals, outdoor concerts and sporting events having to be cancelled because of unsafe temperatures and pollution from wildfires. Soon, we may spend most of July and August longing for winter.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warnings
In Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Changes are coming for 401(k)s and IRAs in 2025. Here's what to know.
The Explainer News about part-time workers, auto-enrollment and penalties for inherited IRAs
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversible
Speed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is threatening Florida's Key deer
The Explainer Questions remain as to how much effort should be put into saving the animals
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is Cop29 a 'waste of time'?
Today's Big Question World leaders stay away as spectre of Donald Trump haunts flagship UN climate summit
By The Week UK Published
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floods
Speed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane Oscar
Speed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Earth's carbon sinks are collapsing
Under the Radar Forests and soil are not operating as usual
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Why the Earth's water cycle is under threat
Under The Radar Disturbances in the system that moves water around the world place more than half of global food production at risk
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Climate safe havens may be a thing of the past
Under the radar Safe spaces are few and far between
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published