Over 75m people in US get heatwave warning

NEW YORK • Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings were in effect for more than 75 million people in the southern and central United States over the weekend.

The warnings were prompted by the continuation of a scorching heatwave that resulted in record high temperatures last Saturday in 16 cities from the Southwest to the Southern Plains, according to the US National Weather Service.

Last Saturday, the temperature reached 45.6 deg C at Sky Harbour Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, tying a record set more than a century ago.

Temperatures rose to 37.8 deg C and above in Las Vegas and even in Denver, where it snowed less than a month ago.

In California's Death Valley, one of the hottest places in the world, temperatures soared to a record of 50.6 deg C on Saturday.

In total, 27 communities in the US either tied or broke temperature records on Saturday, weather service data showed.

In southern Nevada, cooling stations were opened during daytime hours through Sunday.

Officials in Fort Bend County in Texas advertised the area's libra-ries as respite from the heatwave.

Mr Robert Oravec, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said an area of high pressure at mid-to upper-levels of the atmosphere was driving up the temperatures.

"It's a typical type of set-up when you have a heatwave," he said.

"When these type of patterns develop, you tend to have subsiding air and the subsiding air warms the atmosphere. And you can get really warm temperatures."

Dangerous heat conditions had been tipped to continue on Sunday, with temperatures that were projected to again reach into the triple digits, according to the weather service.

Each year, more than 600 people die from excessive heat in the United States, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Older adults, athletes, infants and outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable. The weather service recommended taking precautions against the intense heat, such as hydrating, applying sunscreen, avoiding strenuous activity, checking in on loved ones and monitoring pets.

The high temperatures sent demand for electricity soaring across the Southwest and Texas.

Although a cold front was on the horizon yesterday in the Southwest and likely to provide some relief for the region, the heat was expected to move to the eastern portion of the country - from parts of the Mississippi Valley to the Carolinas and north to the Central Plains.

NYTIMES, BLOOMBERG