A summer of relentless, oppressive heat across the West

To get a sense of how the forces of climate change and extreme heat are transforming the West, consider the summer Phoenix has endured.

On Wednesday, the city experienced its 101st consecutive day of temperatures above 100 degrees, with little relief in sight.

Residents of the desert city are used to scorching summers, but 2024 has been a historic year.

At SixPoints Hardware, BreAnna Larson said her customers have been coming in to buy personal fans and anything else they can get their hands on to stay cool while working on construction sites.

Larson, who has lived in Phoenix for six years, said this summer’s sweltering heat is unlike anything she’s experienced before. The cooling system at her apartment complex has already failed three times this summer due to excessive heat.

“The impact of dark pavements and other elements that can heat up the city and increase electricity bills has really been demonstrated,” he said.

Phoenix is ​​expected to see triple-digit temperatures for the foreseeable future, with temperatures expected to stay above 110 degrees through at least Friday and remain between 100 and 150 degrees for the next seven days, according to the National Weather Service.

“This year, the heat started early and has been persistent,” said NWS meteorologist Ted Whittock. “We haven’t really had a break. This is, on average, the hottest summer on record in the Phoenix area.”

Southern California is in the midst of a heat wave that is expected to last through the weekend, but it’s nothing compared to conditions in parts of the West that are no strangers to extremes.

In Las Vegas, the temperature hit a whopping 120 degrees on July 7, surpassing the city’s previous daily high of 117 degrees. Just days ago, meteorologists declared that 2024 would be the hottest summer on record in Sin City.

On July 5, Palm Springs broke its previous all-time temperature record by reaching 124 degrees.

July was the hottest month in Death Valley’s recorded history, with an average daily temperature of 108.5 degrees and an average daily high temperature of 121.9 degrees.

While California’s climate has always had variability from year to year and month to month, the heat the state has experienced recently is consistent with climate change, according to Jane Baldwin, an assistant professor of Earth system sciences at UC Irvine.

“These are extreme levels of heat and that’s what we generally expect to see more of as the climate system warms,” he said, adding that more analysis is needed to determine whether this will be the new normal for California.

While September heat waves are relatively common, said UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, this one still stands out for bringing anticipated temperatures of up to 115 degrees to the Southern California coast.

For much of the Southwest, it was the hottest summer on record, although that has not been the case for coastal areas of California, Swain said.

“This heat event will actually be the most notable of the year so far on the Southern California coast, where temperatures will reach the mid-90s just a few miles from the beaches and could reach as high as 110-115 (degrees) in parts of the San Fernando Valley,” Swain wrote on his blog.

Extreme heat has also increased the likelihood of heat-related illnesses. In Clark County, Nevada, there have been at least 181 heat-related deaths through the end of August.

Willi Henderson, an employee at the Las Vegas Municipal Pool, has seen an influx of customers at the indoor pool. Homeless people flock to the lobby just to get a break from the heat, while families bring their children to the pool during summer vacations.

According to the 45-year-old Las Vegas resident, about 4,500 people came to the pool last month. Outside the summer months, the number is about half that.

“I don’t try to do all the outdoor activities during the summer,” Henderson said. “I try to stay home and stay hydrated.”

The heat wave is expected to intensify Wednesday through Friday, with temperatures expected to reach 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (43 to 46 degrees Celsius) in the San Fernando Valley. In downtown Los Angeles, temperatures could reach 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (32 to 37 degrees Celsius), according to the weather service.

By Thursday, temperatures could reach 106 degrees and 118 degrees in Santa Clarita and Palm Springs, respectively.

The weather service issued an excessive heat warning from 11 a.m. Wednesday through 8 p.m. Friday for most of Los Angeles County. Overnight temperatures in the mid-70s and low-80s aren’t expected to bring much relief from the heat.

The current heat wave is not expected to break any temperature records in Los Angeles County. The region suffered a particularly scorching heat wave around this time in 2020, when Woodland Hills, traditionally the hottest spot in Los Angeles, recorded a record high temperature of 121 degrees.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth mentioning in its own right.

“This will be the most significant heat wave we’ve had in the last few years,” said NWS meteorologist Todd Hall of the Oxnard office. “Basically, it’s a strong high pressure system that’s driving a lot of this across Nevada and Utah as well. We’re seeing a weakening of the onshore flow that’s creating the high temperatures over the next few days.”

Los Angeles is an urban heat island, which gets warmer than nearby rural areas due to heat-trapping surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, and some types of roofs. Urban heat islands also tend to lack trees and shade to provide cooling.

The urban heat island effect makes people, particularly those in low-income communities of color, more vulnerable to heat waves, said Jo Tavares, director of the California Center for Climate Change Education at West Los Angeles College.

“We know that most people who have the means are fine during heat waves. It is a bit uncomfortable to get in and out of their homes and cars,” he said. “But the people who suffer the most are those who work in the fields, on construction sites, or elderly people who are poor and live in apartments that don’t have proper air conditioning.”

The city’s disparity in climate resilience is visible even in each neighborhood, said Amir Agha Kouchak, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine. Wealthier areas are better protected from extreme heat with vegetation and shade, while poorer areas have less shade and air conditioning.

While people cannot prevent heat waves from occurring, he added, they can best prepare for sweltering conditions.

“Having a water bottle can be the difference between getting heat stroke or not, especially for vulnerable populations,” AghaKouchak said.

Staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report.