It is in the interior of the lands and the desert areas that this heat wave will be felt the most, Friday and Saturday, according to the meteorologists who have issued warnings against this “excessive heat” and its consequences in many areas. The mercury could thus reach 45 ° C in the tourist town of Palm Springs and exceed 46.5 ° C not far from there, in Borrego Springs.
Many fires
“We’ve had heat waves before this year, but not as intense or as long as this one,” said Alex Tardy of the San Diego Weather Services.
It was already in June in 2021 that a “heat dome” of extremely rare intensity had sown chaos on the entire west coast of the United States and Canada. Coupled with a chronic drought, these temperature records had caused many fires at the time. The small village of Lytton, 250 km northeast of Vancouver, had thus broken the historic heat record in Canada, with 49.6 ° C, before being 90% destroyed a few days later by the flames.
The Californian authorities are therefore particularly vigilant about the dangers of this new heat wave when almost the entire state is in a state of drought, often extreme or even “exceptional”.
“The deadliest climate threat”
A law should soon be adopted in California to establish a general warning system in the event of extreme heat waves, as there are for hurricanes or tornadoes in other regions of the United States.
“Extreme heat waves are the deadliest climate threat facing California today. As more and more heat waves are predicted in the coming years, it is essential for public health that we help Californians prepare for them, especially the most vulnerable, “said Ricardo Lara, CEO of the insurance supervisory authority, which supports the measure.