Officials said a relentless heatwave that sent temperatures into triple digits gave Phoenix the 18th consecutive day of highs of 110 degrees or higher on Monday, marking a record set on 1974.

According to the National Weather Service, the heat has put nearly a quarter of the US population on heat warning, which is expected to continue to cover South, Southwest and South Florida.

More than 70 million people across the country were facing dangerous heat as of Monday morning, according to a New York Times analysis of current advice by the LandScan Weather Service and Population Data.

The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 degrees Fahrenheit, or 56.7 degrees Celsius, measured at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, near the border of Nevada and California, in 1913, according to the World Meteorological Organization. gender. World Climate and Weather Archive.

On Sunday, the temperature there reach 126 degrees at the visitor center in Furnace Creek, according to the Weather Service. from Monday afternoon, the temperature reached 122.6 degrees.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the record heat will last through midweek from Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley.

In South Florida, The weather service on Monday also warned of high temperatures during the low 90s, with the heat index expected to reach 105 to 110 degrees. The heat index measures how hot it is outside, taking into account temperature and humidity.

In Coral Gables, a suburb of Miami, Travaris Dotson, 47, who works for a traffic control company, is drinking water under a tree with colleagues to avoid the heat.

“I got in and out of the truck to cool off,” he said. “You have to.”

A few meters away, Raul Roque, a project manager for a construction company, was also resting under a tree. A Miami native, Mr. Roque said he couldn’t remember the heat being this bad.

He described it as dry heat “rising from the ground”. To cope, he drank a gallon and a half of water a day, or “twice as much as usual” to stay hydrated, he said.

For those looking to cool down, there will be little opportunity to do so in places hardest hit by high temperatures, with daily minimum temperatures particularly high.

Heat can be especially devastating for people suffering from health conditions.

In the Phoenix area, for example, there have been 12 heat-related deaths reported this year through mid-June and another 40 open cases where heat is being investigated as a factor, according to the medical examiner. Maricopa County health officer. And in Texas, more than a dozen heat-related deaths have been recorded through 2023, Related press reported.

In the coming days, temperatures will be highest in the southwestern desert, where the highest is likely to be 110 degrees Celsius and the lowest is only in the 80s and 90s.

To stay safe on very hot days, the Weather Service advised people on Monday to drink plenty of water, stay in cooler rooms, stay out of the sun and check on loved ones and neighbors, especially those older people live alone.

“Wear light-colored clothing,” said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service, said on Twitter on Monday. “Comfort also works.”

Besides the heat, other parts of the country are facing other severe weather warnings, especially rain.

The weather service warned: “Heavy storms and heavy rain are expected from the Central Highlands to the Ohio Valley and Northeast through Tuesday.

The Northeast saw heavy rainfall and flash floods over the weekend.

In Pennsylvania, sudden rains fell in parts of Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, leaving at least five people dead and others trapped in their vehicles. In part of Long Island in New York, 5 inches of rain fell in less than two hours.

“We’re in a very, very unstable weather situation,” said Kathy Hochul, governor of New York state. “Your car can go from safety to death.”

And if that wasn’t enough, smoke from the ongoing wildfires in Canada will hit the US again this week and could trigger air quality warnings in parts of the Northern Highlands. Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast.

Camille the baker And Livia Albeck-Ripka contribution report.