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rear Record daytime temperatureThe beginning of the night in Phoenix last Friday was barely free from the heat wave. When the clock hit midnight, it was still an astonishing 100F (38C) outside, and the inside of the 60-year-old Salepta Jackson’s house was only a few degrees cool.
Jackson was naked and lay as quietly as possible on the bed next to the old portable air conditioning unit in the bedroom window, but couldn’t be relaxed or comfortable. After all, I woke up around 2 am and made the next day’s rice and beans because the air conditioner and appliances didn’t work together, so it was too hot during the day to cook.
“This heat is disastrous and my body can’t accept it,” said Jackson, who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, and last year suffered a stroke after overheating.
The lowest temperature on Friday night was breathtaking 90F. It became very hot for the first time early in the season, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). It broke the overnight record before June 10th with an astonishing 5th floor.
Matthew Hirsch, a Phoenix NWS meteorologist, says temperature records have been broken many times. “Climate change means that records are more likely to be broken each year. This heat is very dangerous if you don’t get any relief.”
For Jackson, and for many others, the daytime heat of the current waves is harsh enough, but it’s a really unbearable night.
The central air conditioner in the pokey apartment she shares with her husband Jerry Stewart (69) and daughter Zaddy (19) has been broken for three years. Carefully selected fans are constantly moving, but it’s still too hot. Zadi, whose room felt like a sauna on the weekend, was relieved to sleep at her friend’s house.
The couple spent a few hours in church on Sunday visiting their air-conditioned grandchildren, but the gas bill was too high to travel often. “We just try to stay calm and hope to get over it,” Jackson said.
Over the past week in the city, temperatures haven’t fallen below 80F (27C), breaking night records. The effects of heat are cumulative and the body begins to recover only when the body temperature drops below 80 ° F.
Cool and hydrating in this heat is a matter of life and death. In the morning, Mockingbirds and fly catchers play with grass sprinklers to keep you cool. In the evening, small children do the same.
Phoenix, the capital of Arizona and the fifth largest city in the United States with a population of 1.6 million, is accustomed to the hot desert climate, but global heating and urban development raises temperatures, especially at night.The city Heat Emperor Coordinate efforts to mitigate extreme heat and adapt to it Killed a record number of people.
This is Phoenix’s first extreme heat wave of the season, with temperatures exceeding 110 degrees Celsius for four consecutive days over a wide area of the Southwestern United States, including two new daily records.Even before this extra hot spell, county coroners were investigating Possibility of 30 heat-related deaths Dating back to April – 60% more than the same period last year. Another excessive heat spell is predicted later this week.
In downtown Phoenix, high-rise office blocks and hotels are shaded, but walking just a few blocks can be tiring.
26-year-old Alexia Gonzales crouched down before leaving home and buying groceries for an Instacart job. “It’s too hot to work, but this is when people want delivery.”
In this heat, Gonzales wouldn’t leave the house without an ice chest filled with cold drinks and orange cups, as the old Buick’s air conditioning isn’t good. “When you’re done, lower the hose again. That’s the only way I can cool.”
Temperatures like this can be harsh for everyone, but some people find it easy to stay cool.
Around 7am on Saturday, 58-year-old Roland Arnold greets friends and neighbors in Coronado, a historic middle-class district, with an eight-year-old rescue mini-pony, Valentine’s Day. I was riding on a winding road. It was already 90F (32F) and the rising sun was sharp, but it was still tolerable.
“In this heat, the day is over by 9am and I’m inside with the air conditioner on. If I have to work outside, I’m wearing boardshorts so I’m in and out of the pool You can keep it cool, “says Arnold from Arizona, who runs a marble and granite business. “But I’m sick of hot nights, it’s definitely getting worse.”
Nighttime temperatures have risen twice as fast as daytime highs in the last three decades, according to NWS data.
Many dog walkers also went out early with their dogs so that by about 9am the ground was hot enough to burn their paws. Some say they’re heading to state parks and the city of cool Flagstaff at night, heading to higher, cooler ground, while others, like Arnold, plan to spend the day between the air conditioner and the pool. increase.
Health experts recommend staying indoors as much as possible to avoid heat stroke and heat stroke, but this is not always an option.
Landscape architect Miguel Padilla, a few blocks away from the dog run, was pushing gravel into a wheelbarrow. It’s a groundbreaking job he started at 4am after a terrible night’s sleep. “Summer is hell for us without air conditioning,” said 46-year-old Padilla from Acapulco, southern Mexico.
By Saturday morning, it was on the 110th floor, and in Midtown the Central Library was full of people trying to keep it cool. The library is part of the city’s heat mitigation network, which remains dangerously hot in the evening, but few cooling centers are open outside business hours. Still, it’s a lifesaver for the locals, and there are few other options, including homeless streets.
Katie Lavra, 67, calmed down for a few minutes and stopped registering voters in the dark. She said, “I’ve been here for the rest of my life, but you never get used to this heat. You just learn to tolerate and respect it.”
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