This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. This story is part of Record High, a Grist series examining extreme heat and its impact on how — and where — we live.
More than 113 million people in the United States are suffering under extreme heat as another massive “heat dome” expands from Texas westward toward California. Meteorologists expect the Southwest’s heat wave to intensify over the weekend, delivering some of the year’s highest temperatures and pushing California’s Death Valley near its all-time-record temperature of over 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The midday heat in cities like Phoenix, Arizona, has become so intense that ordinary surfaces such as streets and metal railings are too dangerous to touch without risking burns.
But apart from these eye-popping highs, experts said the real danger of the Southwest’s heat wave will be its sheer duration. The mass of stagnant air responsible for the event has already lingered over Texas and Louisiana for weeks. It’s feeding on itself to generate more heat as it moves west, depleting ground moisture and discouraging cloud formation, which ensures that it won’t disappear for at least another week. During that time, more than a third of the country’s population will be under a heat warning issued by the National Weather Service.
