Extreme heat brings misery
SWELTERING temperatures lingered Sunday (Aug 20) in a large swath of the central US, causing misery from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes.
Record high temperatures were recorded in Texas and other states. People were told to chug extra water while mowing lawns or exercising outdoors, and to check on neighbours to ensure air conditioning is available.
The extreme heat prompted Texas’ electric power grid manager to ask residents to voluntarily conserve power for three hours on Sunday night.
“These high temperatures can impact our friends, families, and neighbours who may live alone, especially if they limit their use of air conditioning,” Sarah Russell, commissioner for the St Louis Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement. “We urge everyone to stop and visit loved ones to ensure they are healthy and well during this extreme heat.”
The Dallas-fort Worth area was expected to reach 43.3°C Sunday after hitting 42.2°C Saturday, said Sarah Barnes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The record high for those dates was 41.7°C, set in 2011.
The area is not cooling off enough at night, Barnes said.
“That’s really going to contribute to an increased risk of heat-related illnesses,” Barnes said Sunday. “That’s the main concern when it comes to people and the heat.”
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot), on Sunday asked the state’s 30 million residents to voluntarily reduce power use from 7pm to 10pm Central Daylight Time because of “extreme temperatures, continued high demand and unexpected loss of thermal generation”.
Ercot’s request for voluntary power conservation was the second such request in the past three days. The agency said it was not in emergency operations. Many residents still view the power grid nervously more than 2.5 years after a deadly winter blackout.
The heat wave causing misery last weekend is just the latest to punish the United States this year.
Scientists have long warned that climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, by deforestation and by certain agricultural practices, will lead to more and prolonged bouts of extreme weather, including hotter temperatures.
The entire globe has simmered to record heat both in June and July.
And if that’s not enough, smoke from wildfires, floods and droughts have caused problems globally.
The temperature reached a record high for the date of 40°C Saturday in Jackson, Mississippi, as people walked between indoor and outdoor events at the Mississippi Book Festival. Volunteers distributed chilled water, and people used handheld fans while chatting with authors and shopping for books at large tents outside the state Capitol building.
Houston on Sunday added to its ongoing streak of high temperatures at or above 37.8°C.
The stifling heat in Texas overwhelmed people taking part in orientation for new students at Prairie View A&M University, 77km northwest of Houston. University officials said they were reviewing operations after 38 students were hospitalised last Friday night after suffering heat-related illnesses, including dehydration.
“It’s very easy to overheat quickly in this Texas heat. We highly encourage everyone to stay indoors as much as possible,” Waller County EMS Chief Rhonda Getschman said. The heat was worrisome for Sunday as thousands were expected for the final day of the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. In a Facebook post, fair officials urged patrons to visit air-conditioned buildings, take regular breaks and stay hydrated.
Last month, the Phoenix area broiled under a record-setting 31 days of daily high temperatures of 43.4°C or above. The historic heat began blasting the region in June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert. The previous record was 18 straight days in 1974. In July, the continental United States set a record for overnight warmth, providing little relief from daytime heat for people, animals, plants and the electric grid, meteorologists said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports just 600 to 700 heat deaths annually in the United States. But experts say the mishmash of ways that more than 3,000 counties calculate heat deaths means the public doesn’t really know how many people die in the United States each year.