• Weather

Heat Dome in Southwest Keeps Temps At or Near 100 Degrees for Days on End

• #climatecrisis
• COVID-19
• heat stroke
• heat wave
• hurricane
• La Niña

Temperatures are forecast to continue to exceed 110 degrees across the Southwestern U.S. this week — Phoenix might set a record for its all-time high. But it’s not only going to bake the South — the heatwave will cause 100-degree temperatures across the Ohio Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic. At the same time, NOAA forecast that a “La Niña” (cooling of the ocean near the equator in the Pacific) could develop later this year increasing the likelihood of fall hurricanes, as well as a colder winter for some parts of the country.

Why This Matters:  The very areas of the country that are being ravaged by COVID-19 are now experiencing the worst of the heatwave too.

• Water

Army Study Says Climate Change Threatens Mission Failure Due to Expanded Need for Water

• bottled water
• Drought
• heat stroke
• water

A new study from the Army War College found that the “Army is precipitously close to mission failure concerning hydration of the force in a contested arid environment” and needs to “reinvest aggressively in technologies both in-house and commercial off the shelf in the next 5-10 years to keep pace with rising global temperatures, especially those arid areas in or poised for conflict.” 

Why This Matters:  This is not just a problem for years in the future — the military is already experiencing it today.  As we reported earlier this month, at a U.S. Air Force Base in Qatar, on hot days, servicemembers can only work for 10 minutes of each hour and they must drink 2 bottles of water during the same hour.   And NBC News and Inside Climate News reported last summer that an increasing number of service members are suffering from heat-related illnesses.

• Health

Extreme heat in South Florida hurts the most vulnerable

• climate change
• extreme heat
• Florida
• heat stroke
• public health

For years, that discussion had been dominated the impacts of rising sea levels. Now, the state’s medical community is sounding the alarm about the health risks associated with rising temperatures. Whether it’s a longer allergy season, air quality issues or mosquito-borne illnesses, heat is already making people sicker, they say, and the nearly 60% of Miami residents who live paycheck to paycheck could be the most in danger.