US West And South Bake Under Extended Heat Wave

Los Angeles, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Jul, 2023 ) :Swaths of the United States home to more than 80 million people were under heat warnings or advisories Sunday, as relentless, record-breaking temperatures continued to bake western and southern states.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of "a widespread and oppressive heat wave" in parts of the Southwest, western Gulf Coast, and southern Florida, with sizzling temperatures carrying into the coming week raising health risks for millions.

In Arizona, the state capital Phoenix recorded its 17th straight day above 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), as temperatures hit 113F (45C) on Sunday afternoon.

The sprawling city, home to over 1.6 million people, is under an Excessive Heat Warning until Wednesday evening, according to the NWS, which said Sunday morning's low of 94F (34C) equalled its warmest low temperature on record.

"We're used to 110, 112 (degrees Fahrenheit) .

.. But not the streaks," Nancy Leonard, a 64-year-old retiree from the nearby suburb of Peoria, told AFP.

Leonard said that due to the intense heat, she spends only a few minutes outside during the morning, to walk her dog, and then later in the evening once the sun sets.

"You just have to adapt," she said.

Volunteers around Phoenix have been organized to direct residents to cooling centers and distribute bottles of water and hats, but program head David Hondula told the local ABC station that its three-days-per-week schedule is "clearly... not enough."In Utah's capital Salt Lake City, the temperature soared to 106F (41C) on Sunday, beating the previous record of 103F (39C) for the date.

The stationary high-pressure system covering much of the US southwest, known as a heat dome, brought temperatures in some parts of Nevada and southern California to above 115F (46C).