LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A record-breaking heat wave continued to grip the western United States on Tuesday, smashing records and endangering lives with little relief in sight.
Approximately 162 million people — nearly one-half of the US population — were living in areas under active heat warnings, according to the National Weather Service.
It said in a post on X the “dangerous heat” was expected to remain in the western part of the country for the rest of the week before moving eastward over the weekend, warning “the persistent and record-breaking heat is extremely dangerous to those without access to cooling.”
Among places that saw records shattered was Las Vegas, Nevada, which recorded its all-time high temperature of 48.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
In Texas, the White House declared a federal emergency after the storm “Beryl” had left some 2 million without power as of Tuesday evening.
“The greatest concern right now is the power outages and extreme heat that is impacting Texans,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Meanwhile the southeastern US and East Coast saw sweltering temperatures of their own, with heat advisories and excessive heat warnings in effect from Florida to Massachusetts.
The heat has been directly attributed to several deaths along the US West Coast.
In Death Valley, California, on Saturday, a motorcyclist died of suspected heat exposure and another was hospitalized, according to National Park Service officials.
The area, known as one of the hottest places on Earth, recorded a temperature of 53C.