Baltimore: More than 100 million people across the US were under heat warnings on Sunday, with cities on the East Coast bracing for record-breaking temperatures as the heat dome causing the dangerous conditions expands to the West Coast.

Baltimore and Philadelphia are forecast to touch records near 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) on Sunday, while temperatures rise into the 90s F in states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, as much as 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. The extreme heat will then shift to Nebraska and Kansas on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Officials are warning of dangerous conditions in the Philadelphia region where high humidity could drive heat indices above 105 F (41 C), making it feel even hotter than the actual temperature.

“It likely means we’ll be seeing periodic periods of excessive heat across a decent part of the country into July,” NWS meteorologist Marc Chenard said. “Not continuous at any one spot, but the overall pattern will continue to favor these above normal temperatures.” Temperatures have cooled in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and New England regions, but excessive heat in the 90s F continues to stretch from Virginia to New York.

Climate change is driving dangerous heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere this week and will continue to deliver dangerous weather for decades to come, research shows. Extreme heat is suspected of causing hundreds of deaths across Asia and Europe as it has taken over cities on four continents. More than 1,000 have died during Haj amid sweltering temperatures this year, according to a tally.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2024