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Heatwave to Affect 250 Million People Across Eastern and Central U.S.
A prolonged heatwave will bring dangerous temperatures and humidity to large parts of the United States starting Thursday. About 120 million people are already under extreme heat warnings as the country heads into the Fourth of July weekend.
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A prolonged and dangerous heatwave will intensify across a swathe of the United States this week, bringing scorching daytime heat, high humidity and stifling overnight temperatures. Some 120 million people nationwide are under an extreme heat warning as of Tuesday. Starting on Thursday, about 250 million people will be exposed to some dangerous level of heat, according to weather forecasters.
The extreme temperatures, caused by a heat dome, will peak in the Midwest and Mississippi Valley by Thursday. The system will shift east into the Ohio Valley and East Coast on Thursday and into the holiday weekend. Temperatures ranging from 95F-105F combined with high humidity will bring the heat index to 100F-115F.
Daily temperature records are expected to be broken on Thursday and Friday, with some monthly and all-time records possible.
Officials are warning people living in the affected areas to limit time outdoors, stay hydrated and ensure access to air conditioning or cooling centres. New York City activated a heat emergency plan with hundreds of cooling centres set to open across the city on Wednesday. Detroit opened a dozen recreation centres with air conditioning for residents to cool down.
It comes after Europe's early summer heatwave scorched several countries over recent days, with temperature records broken across the continent. With the intense weather, some World Cup matches could have heat indexes exceeding the threshold where global players' union Fifpro considers conditions to be too unsafe for play.
The hottest weather will be in Texas, which will mostly hit fans travelling to and from the air-conditioned stadiums in Houston and Arlington. Philadelphia is moving parts of its Fifa World Cup Fan Festival into cooled tents on Thursday and Friday. In Canada, temperatures were expected to remain high until Thursday, particularly in the province of Ontario, where it could hit 37C (99F) this week.
Toronto is due to host a World Cup game on Thursday when temperatures are predicted to reach 35C (95F).
