US suffers under killer heatwave with 15 dead
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Jul 19, 2011, 3:52:30 PM7/19/11
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Perilous
Times and Climate Change
US suffers under killer heatwave with 15 dead
* From: AFP
* July 20, 2011 4:20AM
A searing heatwave has brought summer misery to the American heartland, enveloping as many as 17 US states in oppressive temperatures and humidity likely to persist into next week.
US officials say there have been at least 15 deaths across the United States as a result of the intense and persistent heat, as the central United States sees a string of days with temperatures topping 37 degrees Celsius.
The heat has been coupled with near record humidity - a miserable combination that forecasters said would move eastward in the coming days.
"A combination of very hot temperatures and high humidity will create dangerous heat indices over the central US," said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA predicted that the oppressive heat and humidity "will spread into the eastern US this week".
A spokesman with the National Weather Service meanwhile said more than a thousand heat records had been broken across the United States in just the past month.
The intense high temperatures are reported to have caused roads to buckle, while dozens of people required medical treatment, according to the Daily Oklahoman newspaper, which reported that Oklahoma City saw its 28th day of triple-digit temperatures this year on Monday.
The central US states of Illinois and Indiana were expecting temperatures and humidity indices above 46C with even worse weather predicted in some areas by Thursday.
Forecasters said high pressure in the upper atmosphere ensured that the searing weather would remain in place in the heartland for days on end, but would not spare the eastern United States.
The US east coast already on Tuesday was beginning to feel the effects of the oppressive weather, which was expected to reach New York, Washington DC and the rest of the eastern seaboard full force by midweek, according to NOAA.
Each year, heat kills 162 people on average in the United States, more than are killed by hurricanes (117 on average), floods (65), tornados (62) or lightning (48).
Just last month, NOAA released data showing that 30-year temperatures across the United States had risen appreciably.
The 30-year baseline is used by scientists to understand climatic trends, including climate change.
US suffers under killer heatwave with 15 dead
* From: AFP
* July 20, 2011 4:20AM
A searing heatwave has brought summer misery to the American heartland, enveloping as many as 17 US states in oppressive temperatures and humidity likely to persist into next week.
US officials say there have been at least 15 deaths across the United States as a result of the intense and persistent heat, as the central United States sees a string of days with temperatures topping 37 degrees Celsius.
The heat has been coupled with near record humidity - a miserable combination that forecasters said would move eastward in the coming days.
"A combination of very hot temperatures and high humidity will create dangerous heat indices over the central US," said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA predicted that the oppressive heat and humidity "will spread into the eastern US this week".
A spokesman with the National Weather Service meanwhile said more than a thousand heat records had been broken across the United States in just the past month.
The intense high temperatures are reported to have caused roads to buckle, while dozens of people required medical treatment, according to the Daily Oklahoman newspaper, which reported that Oklahoma City saw its 28th day of triple-digit temperatures this year on Monday.
The central US states of Illinois and Indiana were expecting temperatures and humidity indices above 46C with even worse weather predicted in some areas by Thursday.
Forecasters said high pressure in the upper atmosphere ensured that the searing weather would remain in place in the heartland for days on end, but would not spare the eastern United States.
The US east coast already on Tuesday was beginning to feel the effects of the oppressive weather, which was expected to reach New York, Washington DC and the rest of the eastern seaboard full force by midweek, according to NOAA.
Each year, heat kills 162 people on average in the United States, more than are killed by hurricanes (117 on average), floods (65), tornados (62) or lightning (48).
Just last month, NOAA released data showing that 30-year temperatures across the United States had risen appreciably.
The 30-year baseline is used by scientists to understand climatic trends, including climate change.
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