West and much of the South USA are suffocated by an “extremely dangerous” heat wave this weekend, according to the National Weather Service, with the thermometer reading as high as 47°C in some cities.

“It’s expected an overwhelming and extremely dangerous heat wave hits the west this weekendas well as parts of the south,” the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) warned in a bulletin released Saturday morning.

“Various temperature records are likely to be set and air quality issues will be common in different regions of the United States,” the NWS added.

And relief is not likely to come anytime soon for the more than 90 million Americans under high temperature surveillance, as the heat dome is expected to “remain stationary over (these regions) for the next few days,” the NWS predicted.

Scientists warn of ‘underground climate change’

In Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, one of the hardest hit states, in the southwestern United States, 47 °C was expected late afternoon, in what would be the 16th consecutive day with maximums above 43 °C.

It’s part of the state low “magenta” alert level, a “rare and/or prolonged extreme heat level” which represents the highest alert level in the NWS.

In Southern California (west), firefighters have battled several very violent fires since Friday that destroyed more than 1,214 acres and prompted the evacuation of the population.

According to climatologist Daniel Swain of the University of California, Los Angeles, the mercury level in Death Valley could equal or even exceed the highest air temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth, or 54.4 °C recorded in the same place in 2020 and 2021, according to several experts.

“Harmful”

Other regions in the United States are also at risk from severe weather.

“Strong to violent thunderstorms, torrential rain and flooding are possible in a number of locations, particularly and unfortunately in New England, which is already saturated” from recent rainfall, the NWS said.

Cerberus and Charon, the phenomena that Europe could face in the coming days and that will push the temperature to record highs

This region in the northeastern part of the country, and in particular the state of Vermont, has experienced “historic and catastrophic” flooding this week due to torrential rains.

In neighboring Canada, wildfires continue to increase, especially in the western part of the country, where several hundred igneous sources were recorded in a matter of days, most of them caused by electrical storms.

And the situation will not improve as “hot and dry weather is expected in the coming months,” Sarah Budd of the Forest Fire Service of the Canadian province of British Columbia told AFP: “We are not expecting another ceasefire,” he acknowledged.

More than 10 million acres have already burned across the country this year, 11 times the annual average over the past decade.

The absolute annual record set in 1989 was far surpassed and according to official forecasts the number will continue to rise.

In addition, the smoke from the fires in Canada again sent smoke plumes towards the southern neighbour. Several states in the northern United States, such as Montana and North Dakota, have reported “harmful” levels of air quality.

According to experts, greenhouse gas emissions increase the strength, duration and frequency of heat waves.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted that “heat waves are more common than ever in major U.S. cities.”

“Its frequency has steadily increased, from an average of two heat waves per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2010s and 2020s,” he noted.