The dangerous weeks-long heat wave in the Western US will only worsen this weekend as the heat dome intensifies and reaches peak strength. The heat is so unbearable that the National Weather Service in Phoenix called it “one of the strongest high pressure systems this region has ever seen.” Around 100 heat records could fall between today and the weekend as it intensifies, piling onto the more than 1,000 high temperature records already broken in the US since June.
More than 90 million people are living under heat alerts after the heat dome expanded into places like California, which is now experiencing its first extreme heat wave of the year. The heat will be so intense, forecasters are suggesting that residents of Las Vegas avoid the outdoors between 9 am and 6 pm, with the city forecast to challenge its all-time high temperature of 117 degrees this weekend. Sadly it won’t get much cooler at night, with low temperatures close to 90 degrees! Truly no rest for the wicked.
This kind of sustained extreme heat is one of the hallmarks of human-caused climate change, the symptoms of which are tallying up this year. We’re currently seeing “unprecedented” ocean heat off the coast of Florida and in the North Atlantic; record heat in Beijing, in what could be one of the hottest summers in China; record energy demand and heat down in Texas; and an ongoing “Cerberus” heat wave, threatening to wreck European temperature records.
Meanwhile Chicago experienced a tornado near one of the major airports earlier this week, and Vermont has seen flash flooding resulting in the first recorded drowning death in the state. It’s dangerous out there, be safe dear reader.
Side Items
Grim Milestone: This year’s relentless bloodshed across the US has led to the grimmest of milestones: This has been the deadliest six months of mass killings recorded since at least 2006. From the beginning of 2023 through June 30, the nation experienced 28 mass killings, all but one of which involved guns. The death toll rose just about every week, in a constant cycle of violence, grief, and trauma. Six months. 181 days. 28 mass killings. 140 victims. Only in America
Ring Cameras = Cops: If you’ve ever lived or passed through a suburban neighborhood, you’ve probably grown used to seeing Ring Cameras. This product review from Wired discusses why Ring is problematic, mainly the cozy relationship between Ring and cops. Ring owners are able to send videos they've captured with their video doorbell cameras and outdoor security cameras directly to law enforcement. But if a crime has been committed, law enforcement should have to obtain a warrant to access civilian video footage. There’s no evidence that more video surveillance footage keeps communities safer, but these surveillance-obsessed neighbors only increase the likelihood of racial profiling
French Protests: Shoutout to Teen Vogue for highlighting the fact that the majority of French police subscribe to the far-right politics that demonize and criminalize black and brown French folk. Recently, French president Macron described the death of 17 year old Nahel Merzouk as “inexplicable.” It’s typical for France to play dumb when it comes to its own racism. After all, one of the nation’s purported core tenets is “égalité” (equality). Like so many other countries, it cloaks itself in racial blindness when it is convenient