Heat waveWestern U.S. braces for “dangerous and deadly” 120 degrees heatwave

Published 20 June 2016

Forecasters have warned that temperatures in the western United States are set to reach 120 degrees in a “rare, dangerous, and deadly” heatwave. The forecasts have worried officials, who are bracing for devastating wildfires and power cuts which will knock out air-conditioning systems, leading to heat-related fatalities. The area which will be subjected to the heat wave stretches from Oklahoma to California. It is home to sixty-six million people, one-fifth of the U.S. population.

Actions undertaken for relief might one day be done for survival // Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Forecasters have warned that temperatures in the western United States are set to reach 120 degrees in a “rare, dangerous, and deadly” heatwave.

ABC News reports that the forecasts have worried officials, who are bracing for devastating wildfires and power cuts which will knock out air-conditioning systems, leading to heat-related fatalities. The area which will be subjected to the heat wave stretches from Oklahoma to California. It is home to sixty-six million people, one-fifth of the U.S. population.

In California,wildfires fueled by 40 mile-an-hour winds, known locally as “sundowners”, scorched about 4,000 acres of land near Santa Barbara, north of Los Angeles, threatening homes and forcing  authorities to close main roads, including Highway 101 from Buellton to Goleta.

Around 800 firefighters were dropping vast quantities of fire retardant from aircraft onto burning scrubland in an area of steep and rugged terrain that is difficult to reach on foot. 

Two other brush fires were reported to be raging in New Mexico and another in Arizona.

The forecasts say that the most intense heat was expected to be felt in southern California’s Coachella Valley, where temperatures were predicted to reach 120 degrees. The rising temperatures have already been felt this weekend.

Phoenix, Arizona was preparing for temperatures of between 115 and 120 degrees, while Las Vegas in Nevada was expected to experience a high of around 118.  

This is extreme even for our standards,” said Matthew Hirsch, a weather service meteorologist in Phoenix.

We should anticipate more and more of this extreme heat, and we’re getting to feel it firsthand. It is what global warming looks and feels like,” University of Arizona climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck told ABV News.