According to the US National Weather Service (NWS), July is the hottest month in the country, with a high of 46 degrees Celsius in Phoenix, Arizona.
The region is currently experiencing the longest heat wave on record, with the mercury crossing 43°C for the 22nd consecutive day today.
About 500 kilometers away, in California, Death Valley and the hottest temperatures on the planet attract tourists who want to photograph themselves next to a screen showing the increasing extreme temperatures.
There are those who believe that Earth’s absolute record of 56.6°C recorded in 1913 will be broken, but this is denied by some experts.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in late July, the heat wave will move toward the center of the country, toward the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains of the Midwest.
July is on track to break the record for the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, not just as long as records stand, but for “hundreds, not thousands of years,” NASA’s chief climatologist Gavin Schmidt told reporters.
The situation is not just caused by El Niño, a cyclical climate event that originates in the Pacific Ocean and causes global temperatures to rise, but also because “we’re constantly putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” says Schmidt.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”