A record-breaking hot summer is about to get even hotter: this week is expected to be the hottest week of the year so far in the United States, as heat waves continue to expand across the country.
According to the Fox Forecast Center, Wednesday and Thursday of this week will be some of the hottest days of the year so far, with over 260 million people in the U.S. seeing above-average temperatures.
What to expect from the hottest week so far
All regions — with the exception of the Pacific Northwest — will experience a deadly heat wave and “many locations within the Midwest may reach their hottest temperatures of the year thus far,” the National Weather Service predicts.
Cities from Phoenix to St. Louis will see highs in the triple digits, including Denver, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City and Wichita, according to The Washington Post.
The heat won’t be letting up anytime soon: “There is no end in sight to the exceptional heat dominating North America,” per the Post.
“Most heat domes break down after a week or two, but not this one — it looks to remain large and in charge into August.”
July heat waves would be ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change
The extreme heat waves hitting the United States and Europe were made much more likely by human-induced climate change, a new study found Tuesday.
According to the analysis by the World Weather Attribution group, climate change is not the sole reason behind the heat waves.
“Without human induced climate change these heat events would however have been extremely rare,” the study reads.
“Maximum heat like in July 2023 would have been virtually impossible to occur in the U.S./Mexico region and Southern Europe if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels.”
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution initiative stated that heat waves like the one the U.S. is currently experiencing will continue and become even hotter and longer-lasting “unless the world rapidly stops burning fossil fuels.”