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Millions of Americans are facing “dangerously hot conditions,” the National Weather Service said, with a heat wave expected to hit the Midwest and northeastern U.S. starting Monday.
Michigan, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania were all under heat warnings from Monday, with warnings until Friday evening. Forecasters warned the heat would spread eastward during the week, with a “heat dome” expected to trap high temperatures in New York, Washington and Boston.
The warnings come as temperatures across the southern states are warmer than normal on Sunday. Phoenix, Arizona, was under a heat warning, with temperatures expected to reach 110F (43C), while officials in Atlanta, Georgia, opened a cooling center over the weekend when temperatures reached 100F.
The NWS said over northeastern Indiana, western Pennsylvania and most of the Michigan and Ohio starting Monday. He warned people to expect “dangerously hot conditions”, with heat index values of 100F (38C) or higher likely.
The heat index, or apparent temperature, combines air temperature with humidity to calculate how hot the human body feels.
People in those areas should drink plenty of fluids, avoid the sun and stay in air-conditioned rooms, the NWS said. He warned that drivers should avoid leaving children or pets in vehicles unattended as the interior of the car “will reach lethal temperatures within minutes”.
Detroit, Michigan, likely to see its worst heat wave in 20 years, Associated Press reported. Heat indices of 100F are expected on Monday and will continue throughout the week.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said residents should “check on older neighbors and have a plan if the heat gets too much,” Ironton Tribune reported. The emergency management authority for Delaware County, in the center of the state, published list of “cooling centers” where people can escape the heat.
New York and other parts of the state are expected to see heat index temperatures as high as 105F (41C) next week. Governor Kathy Hochul said people should “take all possible precautions” over the next week – including preparing for severe thunderstorms expected to hit on Friday.
A heat dome is expected to prolong the extreme heat. A heat dome occurs when high pressure traps hot air over a region, causing ground temperatures to rise.
While some areas will experience cooler overnight temperatures, there will be areas of extreme heat, with little or no overnight relief, from eastern Kansas to Maine, according to the National Weather Service heat risk map.
It comes as authorities evacuated at least 1,200 people in Los Angeles County on Saturday as a wildfire spread across thousands of acres near a major highway and threatened nearby structures.
Experts say that the climate crisis caused by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation will increase the number of devastating heat waves around the world.
In 2023, the hottest year on record, the US had the most heat waves – unusually hot weather lasting more than two days – since 1936. In the South and Southwest, last year was the worst on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Last year report from Climate Central, an environmental nonprofit, found that a total of 175 of the 244 U.S. cities analyzed had at least one week of unusually high temperatures.
Heat-related deaths have increased in the U.S. in each of the past three years, According to Department of Health and Human Services. There were 1,602 such deaths in 2021; 1,722 in 2022; and 2,302 in 2023.
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