Aviva Fried (US correspondent) / Photo credit: FRED TANNEAU / AFP
The United States has been suffering for many weeks from a heat wave that is exhausting the population. In Phoenix, temperatures have been above 40 degrees for 22 days. A situation that is increasingly difficult to live in in this city that is not well adapted to the heat.
80 million Americans are currently experiencing temperatures of 41 degrees or more. The heat wave drags on in the United States and tires the population. Arizona is one of the hardest hit states. In Phoenix, temperatures have now exceeded 43.3 degrees for 22 days. It is therefore a record since 1895, the year in which we began to measure temperatures in the city.
No less than 32 degrees at night
It has never been so hot and above all, the temperatures do not drop below 32 degrees at night. Phoenix has grown a lot over the past 50 years and buildings downtown keep the heat out. A heat such as a local chain had fun launching a new program: objects such as tubes of cream, butter or sweets are left in a car to see how long they melt.
But the fear here is that the air conditioning fails. It happened to Jacqueline Williams: “It’s worse than a sauna with hot stones on which you pour water. It’s only steam. My head is spinning, I have blackheads in front of my eyes so hot here, “says this American.
18 dead in Phoenix
18 people have already died because of the heat. Hospitals see an influx of patients who suffer from sunstroke, but also from serious burns caused by contact, even brief, with the bitumen which reaches up to 82 degrees.
And to cool some patients, there is no choice but to wrap them in body bags filled with ice cubes. And no immediate improvement in sight. The heat wave is expected to continue through at least Friday.