Heat waves in the US are getting worse. They are hotter and more frequent than in the past, due to climate change warming of the planet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration analysis showed that heat waves have increased from two per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2010s. The heat wave season has tripled in length as well.
Californians will testify to this. Sacramento reached 115 degrees on Tuesday.
Power companies warned that if customers don’t cut back on electricity use, there will be more blackouts.
The very hot Labor Day weekend resulted in scorching temperatures, wildfires and desert downpours.
The high temperatures are expected to last for the rest of the week.
The Rockies and desert Southwest are forecasted to hit triple-digit temperatures on Wednesday – from areas in the north in Montana and down to Arizona.
“We have now entered the most intense phase of this heat wave,” said Elliot Mainzer, the chief executive of the California Independent System Operator. “We need two to three times as much conservation as we’ve been experiencing to keep the power on.”
On Labor Day, Sacramento hit 114 degrees, and in Death Valley, the temperature registered at 121!
Meanwhile, firefighters in California were battling blazes in the scorching hot sun. In one fire, two people were killed on Monday. The Fairview fire, burned more than 2,400 acres and about 12,000 people were evacuated in and around the city of Hemet, 85 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Another fire, the Mill fire, was blazing in Weed in Northern California. It killed two people. The Mountain fire raged in Siskiyou County and affected almost 12,000 acres.
The crazy weather takes its toll not only on residents but on firefighters, who have to take frequent breaks. Seven firefighters were treated for injuries related to the heat in Los Angeles County while trying to put out the Route fire.