The United States has continued to see scorching temperatures as a heat wave bakes much of the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s what the numbers tell us about the heat and how it’s affecting Americans:
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Wednesday marked 20 straight days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees in Phoenix,. Until this year, the longest streak had been 18 days set in 1974. The city’s high of 116 degrees also broke the previous record of 115 for the date, which was set in 1989.
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Phoenix also set a record on Tuesday for the number of consecutive days — nine — when the low temperature was in the 90s.
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More than 86 million people in the United States live in areas that were expected to see dangerous heat levels on Wednesday.
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For 33 days, El Paso has reached temperatures at or above 100 degrees.
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High temperatures in interior Northern California will be about 10 degrees above average on Thursday.
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Las Vegas is under an excessive heat warning through Saturday, with temperatures expected to reach 113 degrees this week.
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Las Vegas, N.M., recorded its highest temperature ever when it hit 100 degrees in the city on Tuesday.
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Roswell, N.M. is forecast to reach 110 degrees on Wednesday.
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A monitoring station in Hoonah, Alaska, in the state’s southeast panhandle, hit a record high of 78 degrees on Tuesday, breaking the record for that date by one degree. The area’s high temperatures for July are typically closer to 63 degrees.
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Canadian wildfire smoke continues to plague the South, West and Northeast. Atlanta had an air quality index of 134 on Wednesday. A number above 100 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, and one above 200 is considered unhealthy for everyone.
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San Angelo, Texas, hit 106 degrees on Wednesday, the 21st day this year it has been 105 degrees or higher there. Last year’s total was 23. There was not a day in 2021 that exceeded 105 degrees.
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Austin, Texas, hit 105 degrees on Wednesday, reaching 10 straight days at that temperature or higher for the first time in recorded history.
Camille Baker and John Keefe contributed reporting.
