Extreme heat wave hits tens of millions of Americans
A firefighter conducts a prescribed burn near Midpines Park as the 'Oak Fire' grips Mariposa, Calif.
'Extreme Heat' hits dozens of millions of Americans this weekend as many temperature records are expected in the center and northeast of the country and a wildfire is spreading alarmingly in California.
< p class="e-p">The Oak Fire broke out Friday in Mariposa County, near Yosemite National Park and its giant sequoias, and has already moved more than 2,500 acres, destroying ten properties and damaging five others. , according to a bulletin released Saturday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Several roads have been cut and several areas have been ordered to ;to evacuate as the fire, described as extremely intense and fought by around 400 firefighters, was not under control at all on Saturday, according to the same source.
University of California Los Angeles climatologist Daniel Swain said the fire spread rapidly in almost every direction amid high fuel load and extreme drought.
The series of relatively small, non-destructive wildfires that have plagued California so far this season appear to be over, he tweeted .
The American West has already experienced wildfires of exceptional magnitude and intensity in recent years, with a very marked lengthening of the fire season, a phenomenon that scientists attribute to global warming. climate.
Witnesses posted images on social media of a huge and impressive whirlwind of thick smoke rising from the forest like a tornado, a phenomenon dangerous pyrocumulus clouds that can fuel the fire.
The current heat wave is affecting tens of millions of Americans across of the country.
This fire is one of the most dramatic consequences of the heat wave affecting the United States at the end of the week in a localized area between California and Oregon to the west but much more extensively in central and northeast.
Extreme heat will continue across the central United States and expand to the northeast this weekend, with many temperature records expected to be set today [Saturday] and Sunday across the region, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
This heat will fuel severe weather across the northern Midwest today [Saturday] with a serious threat of damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes, the NWS continues in its bulletin.
Stifling heat was particularly felt in the capital, Washington, where temperatures were to flirt with the symbolic bar of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (from 37 to 38 degrees Celsius). New York was not spared with temperatures approaching 35 degrees.
It could also feel like 43 degrees in parts of Utah and Arizona as well as the northeast, according to NWS.
In Boston , where Mayor Michelle Wu has declared a heat-related state of emergency with municipal venues open for cooling off and swimming pools open longer, it could be 37 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
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This week, US President Joe Biden once again underscored the clear and immediate danger posed by climate change, an existential threat to our nation and the world. However, its room for maneuver is limited in Congress and by the Supreme Court.
US President Joe Biden addressed Thursday to the public after giving a speech on climate change in Somerset, Massachusetts.
The planet has already recorded several heat waves this year, such as in July in Western Europe or in India in March-April. Their multiplication is an unmistakable sign of climate change, according to scientists.
In June 2021, an extremely rare heat dome wreaked havoc on the entire west coast United States and Canada, killing more than 500 people and causing severe fires, with temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius.
