Cnn
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An extremely dangerous heat wave affects the east of the United States while a dome of intense heat reaches its maximum point, bringing temperatures to the highest levels of the year – the highest for years for certain cities – and putting tens of millions of people in danger.
During maximum heat, Monday and Tuesday, more than 250 daily temperature records could be beaten, both maximum and warmer, according to the National Meteorological Service (NWS). In some places, temperatures could be “the highest recorded in more than a decade,” warned the NWS office at Mount Holly, New Jersey. New records could also fall on Wednesday and Thursday.
According to the NWS, around 150 million people are under thermal alerts. In many areas, it will be more like July – the hottest month of summer – than in June, with temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees above normal.
A final level of level 4 out of 4 is in effect at least until Thursday, covering from the west to the average Atlantic and including certain regions of the northeast of the country. This prolonged heat wave is rare, it will probably not offer relief overnight and will affect “anyone who has no effective cooling or adequate hydration”, warned the NWS.
“Heat-related diseases increase considerably during extreme heat and high humidity events,” warned the NWS, and stressed that extreme heat can compromise life, especially children, the elderly and people with pre-existing health problems.
The dangerous effects have been immediate because the abrasing conditions intensified in the center of the country during the weekend. Several people – including a major league player, a referee and a staff member – were treated for heat -related diseases on Saturday, when the Seattle Mariners faced the Chicago Cubs in the Wrigley field in Chicago. The temperatures reached 35 ° C during the game, but the humidity caused the thermal sensation of around 40 ºC.
Heat remains the most fatal form of extreme time in the United States, and the frequency and duration of heat waves have increased in recent years due to climate change caused by humans. Night temperatures are the most affected by this phenomenon and increase more quickly than diurnal maximums.
Extreme heat also affects infrastructure, as it causes materials such as concrete and asphalt expands and deforms. During the weekend, problems have already been reported in the West: according to local authorities, certain main road sections in the suburbs of Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin, were closed on Sunday after folding at high temperatures. Similar scenes have been recorded in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where the city warned that more streets could break if the heat continues.
The extreme increase in temperatures also has repercussions on rail and air transport. Trains that operate with electrified cables generally reduce their speed when it is very hot, because high temperatures make cables twist, which makes them more likely to undergo damage. Intense heat days also hinder plane catches – Offers: hot air is less dense than cold air, which complicates the support necessary to raise an airplane.
The dangerous heat has spread to the east of the country on Sunday and will reach its maximum point between Monday and Tuesday.
New York could break their daily temperature records this Monday and Tuesday, with values that will approach or exceed 35 ºC. On Tuesday, it could reach 38 ºC, a brand that is not recorded in the city in June since 1966. The last time New York reached this temperature was July 18, 2012.
Other cities in the Corridor of the Interesting I-95 highway will also face extreme heat this week. Philadelphia will remain nearly 38 ºC between Monday and Wednesday, and probably Batra your daily maximum temperature record for three consecutive days. The maximum planned for Tuesday 38.3 ºC could approach the hottest day of June never recorded in the city and would be the highest temperature since 2012.
Boston could record its highest temperature for a month of June and approach its historic file, with a maximum expected of 39 ºC for Tuesday.
Washington will live three consecutive days with temperatures close to 40 ° C between Monday and Wednesday, which probably involves several daily recordings of maximum temperature. The country’s capital normally only reaches 38 ºC in the middle of July.
Even northern New England will escape intense heat. This Monday could be one of the hottest June ever recorded in Burlington, Vermont, where a maximum of 35 ºC is expected. The city, located less than 65 kilometers from the border with Canada, generally does not know this level of heat before mid-July, if it reaches it.
Temperatures will start to decrease gradually on Wednesday, especially in certain parts of the West and New England, but it will be Thursday when many areas of the country’s eastern half of the country will return to more typical values for June.
This early episode of the season is probably only a progression of what will happen.
In almost the entire continental territory of the United States – with the exception of certain regions of Arizona, New Mexico and Western Texas – the hottest days generally occur in July or August. In addition, a hottest summer is expected that normal throughout the country, according to the forecasts of the Climate Predication Center.
