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A record heat wave across the western U.S. will break this weekend as climate change and atmospheric “heat dome” combine to reach the hottest temperature the region has ever had.
In the coming days, heat waves will move to the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where forecasts show Seattle and Vancouver reached maximums of 41C and 39C, respectively.
Seattle-based meteorologist Cliff Mass said the forecasts are “wonderful” and “wonderful” for a region known for its cool, rainy weather.
“Honestly, I’m impressed with the predictions of the raw forecast model.” he wrote Mass, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington.
Meteorologists have warned that the heat could make the water more deadly as it moves north because most homes have no air conditioning and people are not accustomed to extreme heat.
Hundreds of temperatures records Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and California have also been established in the southwestern U.S. in the past week.
Climate scientists have said that these patterns could become normal because the planet continues to warm due to global warming. It was a world record of 53.2C in June record earlier this month in Death Valley, California.
“Certainly, heat waves have become more frequent and intense due to human-induced climate change,” said Friederike Otto, associate director of the Institute for Environmental Change at Oxford University.
“The most important thing is to know how dangerous the heat is,” he added, noting that older people are at risk.
Unusual temperatures, combined with the historic drought, have significantly increased the risk of fires, according to Otto. Parts of California and Oregon are already preparing for the summer fires more deadly than last year.
High-pressure atmospheric areas in the western United States, often referred to as the “heat dome,” keep the heat wave in place.
“It’s a weather system that can be very sustainable, it can last for many days,” said Dim Coumou, a climate impact research researcher at the Potsdam Institute. “It brings clear skies, very high temperatures[s]”.
Climate change has already warmed the planet by about 1.2C since pre-industrial times, with scientists like Coumou believing that it has also changed atmospheric patterns.
According to his research, the gradual weakening of the jet stream during the summer makes these high-pressure systems more durable, resulting in longer heat waves. The jet stream, a fast-moving wind band in the atmosphere, has a major impact on weather patterns in the northern hemisphere.
“Usually you have weather systems that come and go once a day,” Coumou said. “With these heat domes they can last a lot longer. That heat can actually be generated and you can get those long-lasting waves.”
Other regions of the world have also had record temperatures this month, including the Russian Arctic.
The area around Verkhoyansk, known for being one of the coldest places in the world, was recorded new peak More than 40C on June 21, according to satellite data from Copernicus, the EU’s land observation program.
This surpassed the 38C record recorded around Verkhoyansk last year.
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