It's so hot in Portland that transit power cables are melting

Oregon's Portland Streetcar was forced to suspend transit service on Sunday because the "insane, bonkers, and incredible" heat dome boiling the Pacific Northwest is apparently melting streetcar power cables.
It hit 112 degrees in Portland on Sunday and is expected to reach 114 degrees Monday, as the heatwave lingers in the region. The streetcar shutdown will continue through Monday. Climate experts are expressing alarm at the heat's effects on infrastructure: "We have a climate crisis fueling cascading health, power, and transportation crises," said Constantine Samaras, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. "It's time to do something."
While the heat dome is being called a once-in-a-lifetime event, the Oregon Climate Office warned that "these events are becoming more frequent and more intense," and that the trend of extreme weather is "projected to continue."
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.
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
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
Why men have a bigger carbon footprint than women
Under the Radar 'Male identity' behaviours behind 'gender gap' in emissions, say scientists
-
Why the weather keeps getting 'stuck'
In the Spotlight Record hot and dry spring caused by 'blocked' area of high pressure above the UK
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star program
speed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
The worst coral bleaching event breaks records
The Explainer Bleaching has now affected 84% of the world's coral reefs
-
Why UK scientists are trying to dim the Sun
In The Spotlight The UK has funded controversial geoengineering techniques that could prove helpful in slowing climate change
-
Electric ferries are becoming the next big environmental trend
Under the Radar From Hong Kong to Lake Tahoe, electric ferries are the new wave
-
US proposes eroding species protections
Speed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Ukraine is experiencing an 'ecocide' and wants Russia to pay
Under the radar The environment is a silent victim of war