July 27, 2023 - Coast-to-coast heat wave scorches the US

A deadly, unrelenting heat wave has been impacting millions of Americans across the country.

Here are some scenes from around the nation as it tries to beat the heat.

Rick White drinks water while cooling down in his tent in "The Zone," Phoenix's largest homeless encampment, on July 25, 2023. 

People sit with umbrellas in Washington Square Park in New York on July 27, 2023.

Snickers, a great horned owl, is sprayed down with water by a volunteer at Liberty Wildlife, an animal rehabilitation center and hospital in Phoenix, on July 26, 2023.

People work on the bell tower of a church during a heat wave in Phoenix on July 26, 2023.

Representatives of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust distribute shelter information and bottles of water to people in Miami on July 25, 2023. 

A cactus in Phoenix is affected by the extreme heat and drought on July 25, 2023.

See more photos here.

A toppled saguaro cactus at Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Saguaro cacti that are stressed by extreme weather and lack of water can begin to rot from the inside and eventually lose limbs or collapse.

At a botanical garden in Phoenix, some cacti can’t take the heat.

Record-high temperatures, combined with a lack of seasonal monsoons, have caused saguaro cacti at the Desert Botanical Garden to become “highly stressed,” according to Chief Science Officer Kimberlie McCue.

She said a saguaro can appear “fairly normal” or feel somewhat squishy before it suddenly collapses and reveals it’s been rotting inside due to heat-related stress.

Every February, the Desert Botanical Garden takes inventory of its saguaro cacti and assesses each one’s condition. McCue said since 2020, when record temperatures at the time caused stress in many of the saguaros, she and her team have seen increased mortality in these plants at the garden. Present-day heat records are sending some of those affected cacti over the edge, causing them to lose limbs and even collapse. 

Wednesday night ended a record streak of 16 days with a low temperature above 90 degrees in Phoenix. The city is forecast to see its 28th consecutive over-110-degree day again on Thursday.

Cacti carry out essential functions at night. That’s when they open their stomata, or pores, and carry out a gas exchange in which they take in the carbon dioxide they use to photosynthesize during the day. But because nights in Phoenix have experienced record-high heat, McCue said this suffocates and stresses out the saguaros, which dehydrates them and makes them more susceptible to infections and insects.

A collapsed saguaro cactus at Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.

Phoenix is one of nine US cities where at least 1 million people live in neighborhoods that reach eight degrees higher than surrounding areas, according to a Climate Central analysis.

Farther south in Tucson, where temperatures are slightly lower but still surpassing 100 degrees, plant admirers like Erik Rakestraw aren’t seeing the same distress in local saguaros. He attributes the perseverance of Tucson’s cacti to the lack of a “urban heat island” effect that Phoenix is experiencing.

Rakestraw, curator of botany at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, said domesticated plants near walls rather than in the wild are more likely to experience negative effects due to reflective heat.

However, he said the biggest threat to saguaros is that as temperatures heat up over time, new generations of the cacti species will struggle to grow at all.

This afternoon, the National Weather Service in St. Louis reported widespread heat indexes of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with a few localities getting above 110 degrees.

Remember: Heat index is also called “apparent temperature.” It’s a combination of air temperature and humidity, and it measures what the body actually feels.

Scientists from two global climate authorities are reporting that this month will be the planet’s hottest on record by far — even before July has even ended.

The heat in July has already been so extreme that it is “virtually certain” this month will break records “by a significant margin,” the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization said in a report published Thursday.

Last month was the hottest June on record by a “substantial margin,” according to Copernicus.

Then in July, the world experienced its hottest day on record. On July 6, the global average temperature rose to 17.08 degrees Celsius (62.74 Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus data, beating the previous temperature record of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 Fahrenheit) set in August 2016.

Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown University who was not involved in the report, called the new July temperature record “eye-popping,” but warned that it will be broken again.

“It is scary to remember that in another decade, this will be viewed as a relatively cool year, most likely,” she said, adding, “if people don’t like what they’re seeing this summer, they will be in for quite a shock at the higher warming levels we’re heading for.”

The Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest face an additional weather threat Thursday: strong-to-severe storms that could disrupt travel and knock out power during the sweltering heat.

Brief and isolated tornadoes can’t be ruled out, but the Level 2 out of 5 threat is primarily for damaging winds that could affect the entire I-95 corridor from Washington, DC, to Boston. The storms should fire up in the early afternoon into the evening and could affect the afternoon rush hour commute, so also look out for flooding on roadways.

Parts of northern Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, including Duluth, Minnesota, are under a Level 3 out of 5 threat Thursday for damaging storms that could produce wind gusts as high as 75 mph along with large hail. The Twin Cities faces a Level 2 out of 5 threat, also for strong winds and hail. Wind gusts that strong could easily down power lines and make for a miserably hot powerless evening.

In case of power outages, here are some ways to keep yourself safe and cool:

CNN’s Kristen Rogers contributed reporting to this post.

A worker carries a cooler of ice water to a road paving crew in New York on July 27.

Heat is intensifying for millions of people in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic Thursday, creating a “heat health emergency” as nearly half of the country confronts dangerously high temperatures.

Around 150 million people from coast to coast are under heat alerts Thursday after extreme heat expanded into the highly populated I-95 corridor, bringing the highest temperatures of the year there.

The heat also won’t let up in the South and Southwest, where heat-related deaths are climbing, emergency rooms are filling with heat-related burn victims and even animals are falling victim to heat illness.

The temperatures are also testing infrastructure. PJM Interconnection – the nation’s largest power grid system – has declared an emergency alert. The move activates all systems to be online, including those with planned outages. PJM coordinates electricity for more than 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, DC, according to its website.

Some areas dealing with severe heat include:

Read more here.

A car passes a sign warning of extreme heat danger in Death Valley National Park on July 15 near Furnace Creek, California.

If you’re planning to visit one of the affected destinations during extreme heat, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to stick to your exact original travel plans.

In areas with scorching temperatures, travelers may struggle to sightsee at their usual pace and may need to adapt or scrap itineraries. This will be even more important for people with chronic health conditions or in high-risk categories, such as older people and young children.

While many vacations will be possible so long as advice is followed and precautions are taken, in certain circumstances, it may be advisable to cancel or reschedule your trips.

Here’s how to cope and still enjoy your trip:

As with most meteorological events, heat waves are not typically covered by travel insurance companies, so no compensation will be offered if you cancel your trip because of rising temperatures.

Read more here.

It’s hot out there — and dangerously so. If you are one of the over 150 million people across the US under heat alerts, let us know how you are dealing with the record-breaking temperatures.

A 66-year-old woman died from hyperthermia during days of triple-digit temperatures in Texas this week, police said.

Vickie Duvall Jones was discovered by a neighbor Monday evening at the Villas on Bear Creek, a senior community apartment complex in North Richland Hills, Texas, police said.

She was taken to Medical City North Hills hospital, where she died at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to North Richland Hills police. 

Temperatures in the area have hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit the last few days, according to the National Weather Service:

Lengths of pipe wait to be laid in the ground along the under-construction Mountain Valley Pipeline near Elliston, Virginia, in September 2019.

As summer heat soars off the charts, the US Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the construction of a controversial methane gas pipeline, granting an emergency request from backers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline project.

The Supreme Court’s order green-lighting the completion of a major fossil fuel project comes as scientists reported July was the planet’s hottest month on record in the last 120,000 years — the hottest in human history.

The lawsuit-plagued 300-mile-long pipeline would transport gas from West Virginia’s Marcellus and Utica shale areas to Virginia, crossing waterways and federal national forest lands.

Despite climate activists urging President Joe Biden’s administration to stop approving fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline, White House officials have been supportive of the pipeline.

More background: The project has been severely delayed, in part, because several of the court challenges were upheld by the Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which has repeatedly tossed the project’s permits, citing environmental violations.

In June, however, members of Congress came together under debt ceiling negotiations to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act, known as Section 324, mandating the completion of the pipeline and stripping jurisdiction of courts to hear challenges regarding federal approvals of the project. Biden signed it into law on June 3.

When it was revealed in May that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s pipeline provisions would be added to the debt limit bill, a White House official previously told CNN it would make good on a compromise that the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck with Manchin last year to secure his vote for last year’s sweeping Inflation Reduction Act.

The White House did not immediately return CNN’s request for comment on the Supreme Court allowing the pipeline to proceed.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press conference in New York on July 27.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on leaders to take action Thursday as he warned the month of July will “shatter” global temperature records. 

Guterres spoke to journalists in New York following the publication of a report by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization on Thursday that revealed July is set to be the planet’s hottest month on record. 

He said inaction toward climate change is unacceptable, calling on leaders to respond immediately to the issue. 

“Leaders must lead — no more hesitancy, no more excuses, no more waiting for others to move first. There is simply no more time for that,” Guterres stressed. 

Guterres said action must take the form of ambitious national emission reduction targets from G20 countries alongside widespread transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. 

“We also need action from leaders beyond governments,” Guterres added, urging companies to come to the UN Climate Ambition Summit in September with “credible transition” plans. 

He also singled out financial institutions, stressing the need for them to “end their fossil fuel lending” and shift to renewables instead. 

Lastly, the secretary general highlighted the plight of countries “on the front lines who have done the least to cause the crisis,” stressing the need to provide them with the support they need. 

Guterres maintained that there is still time to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees and “avoid the very worst of climate change.”

People stand in the East River in New York on Wednesday, July 26.

The Big Apple will wilt under “oppressive heat and humidity” through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service office in New York City.

On Thursday and Friday, the heat index is expected to be 103 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit across much of the city and northeast New Jersey. New York City is under an excessive heat warning from Thursday to Saturday, marking the first such heat warning in the city in almost two years, New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said during a press conference Thursday.

The region could also see strong to severe storms and localized flash flooding on Thursday afternoon into the evening.

The weather service said the heat and humidity will “significantly increase” the potential for heat-related illnesses.

He said cooling centers are open throughout the city, advising residents to stay out of the sun and check in on elderly neighbors.

Heat-caused deaths are the leading cause of extreme weather-related deaths in the city, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. He also emphasized the importance of protecting Black New Yorkers from the heat, saying Black people are twice as likely to die from heat-related causes than white New Yorkers.

While particular attention should be placed on the elderly, kids, and people with disabilities, all New Yorkers should avoid the sun during peak hours, drink plenty of water and rest, Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan advised that residents:

The heatwave will not be an isolated climate event, as New York City will increasingly experience extreme weather situations, the mayor said. 

“It’s really a climate disaster that we’re seeing firsthand across the globe,” Adams said.

The downtown public library in Portland, Maine, is being utilized as a cooling center Thursday and Friday due to hot temperatures hitting the area, the city said in a news release.  

The city urged residents to use a local pool and the city’s splash pads for respite from the heat.

Portland is expected to see temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit or higher on Thursday, the National Weather Service said. 

The Portland area has “quite the trifecta of weather going on,” NWS said Thursday, adding that severe thunderstorms and flooding are expected.

“Storms this afternoon could contain heavy downpours, damaging winds and possibly a brief tornado,” the weather service said.

Pools and water park facilities in Providence, Rhode Island, are offering extended hours over the next several days due to high temperatures, Mayor Brett Smiley announced Thursday.

Waterparks and pools are free and open to the public, according to the Providence website. The city has also opened two cooling centers and is offering libraries to residents as shelters from the heat.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a heat advisory for parts of the northeast including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and heat index values of 95 to 100 are expected in some areas.

“Extreme heat can be a serious health concern for anyone. However, it’s particularly dangerous for younger children, older adults, and people with underlying health issues,” said Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee. “With the temperatures we are seeing, people should be checking on each other, staying well hydrated, limiting their exposure to the heat, and watching for signs of heat-related illness.”

CNN’s Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.

Lexington, Kentucky, is offering discounted rates at its six public pools to provide residents relief from the heat impacting the area, the city said in a Facebook post Thursday morning.

“The city of Lexington is declaring a Phase 2 Heat Watch effective Thursday, July 27 through Saturday, July 29,” the city said in a release, noting it will be in place from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

Lexington has also designated four cooling centers in the area for those looking to escape the heat, the release said. Those centers will be open from 9 a.m. ET to 9 p.m. ET Thursday through Saturday, the city said.

Hot temperatures in the Lexington area, coupled with high humidity, “may cause heat illnesses to occur,” according to the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning Thursday morning for parts of Illinois, Indiana and Missouri.

The warning, which is in effect until Friday night, predicts “dangerously hot conditions with heat index values of 108 to 113,” according to the NWS.

Remember: The heat index is a measurement of what conditions actually feel like to the human body, taking additional factors like humidity into account.

Cities are preparing for the sweltering heat by providing cooling centers for residents.

St. Louis, Missouri, announced one such center in a social media post. Earlier in the week, the city warned residents to check on their “vulnerable family, friends, and neighbors, and make sure everyone is drinking plenty of water.”

The mayor of Evansville, Indiana, told residents to “stay cool and take care,” offering up a community center as a haven for those seeking shelter. 

A billboard displays the high temperature in Phoenix, Arizona on July 18. 

Scientists from two global climate authorities are reporting that this month will be the planet’s hottest on record by far, as vast swaths of three continents bake under blistering temperatures and oceans heat to unprecedented levels.

The heat in July has already been so extreme that it is “virtually certain” this month will break records “by a significant margin,” the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization said in a report published Thursday.

Typically these records, which track the average air temperature across the entire world, are broken by hundredths of a degree. But the temperature for the first 23 days of July averaged 16.95 degrees Celsius (which is 62.51 Fahrenheit) — well above the previous record of 16.63 degrees Celsius (or 61.93 Fahrenheit) set in July 2019, according to the report.

The data used to track these records goes back to 1940, but many scientists say it’s almost certain these temperatures are the warmest the planet has seen in 120,000 years, given what we know from millennia of climate data extracted from tree rings, coral reefs and deep sea sediment cores.

The human toll is stark:

And human-caused climate change is the main driver of this extraordinary heat, Burgess said. “The global air temperature is directly proportional to the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”

A recent study found climate change played an “absolutely overwhelming” role in the heat waves in the US, China and southern Europe this summer.

The arrival of El Niño, a natural climate fluctuation with a warming impact, has not had a huge impact on the temperatures as it is still in its developmental phase, Burgess said, but it will play much more of a role next year, she added, and will likely drive temperatures even higher.

The news that July will be the hottest month comes amid a slew of alarming records that have already been broken — and then broken again — this summer.

Last month was the hottest June on record by a “substantial margin,” according to Copernicus.

Then in July, the world experienced its hottest day on record. On July 6, the global average temperature rose to 17.08 degrees Celsius (62.74 Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus data, beating the previous temperature record of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 Fahrenheit) set in August 2016.

Every day since July 3 has been hotter than the 2016 record.

“We are seven months into 2023 and almost every month this year has been in the top five hottest on record,” said Burgess, adding that If the trends continue into the fall and winter, 2023 is likely to be amongst the warmest ever years.

Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown University who was not involved in the report, called the new July temperature record “eye-popping,” but warned that it will be broken again.

About 150 million Americans — or around 45% of the US population — are under heat alerts that include more than 30 states extending from California to Maine, according to the National Weather Service. The heat will peak today and Friday across the eastern half of the country. 

The Northeast will easily see its warmest temperatures of the year, as highs in Washington, Philadelphia and New York City approach 100 degrees and the heat index could reach a dangerous 105 degrees today and tomorrow.

In the Midwest, heat indices across St. Louis and Kansas City will top 100 degrees Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures could reach the low 100s in both cities, where heat advisories are in effect.

Meanwhile, in the Southwest, the extreme heat is slowly waning. Phoenix’s night time low temperature finally dropped below 90 degrees for the first time in 16 days and the record breaking streak of 110 degrees or above high temperatures could end on Sunday.

Philadelphia’s health department declared a “Heat Health Emergency” for Thursday through Saturday, the agency said in a news release.  

“During very hot weather, the City will declare a Heat Health Emergency. When we declare a Heat Health Emergency, we activate several City services to ensure our residents stay safe,” the department said.

The city is increasing its outreach to those experiencing homelessness in the area to help them find relief from the heat the release said.  

The city’s designated more than a dozen free libraries as cooling centers that are open to the public, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time each day Thursday through Saturday. Nearly 20 parks and recreation centers will also be open as cooling centers from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. 

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the Philadelphia is currently under an excessive heat warning.  

Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust representatives distribute bottles of water and shelter information during a heat wave in Miami, Florida, on July 25. 

Heat is called a “silent killer” because you can’t see it but it can quickly turn deadly. The very young, the elderly and those who have to spend long periods of time outside, such as outdoor workers and people experiencing homelessness, are particularly vulnerable.

What happens to your body in extreme heat: The body is used to a range of temperatures between 97 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit (36 to 37 degrees Celsius). When it rises above this, the body sweats to cool down but the higher the temperature, the harder it is to cool down — especially if it’s humid, which means sweat can’t evaporate as easily.

The second way your body cools itself down is by dilating blood vessels and upping your heart rate, which helps bring heat and blood to the surface of your body and release that excess heat.

What to watch for: Heat exhaustion can occur when your body overheats. This can bring dizziness, nausea and headaches. Heat stroke is more serious and happens when the body’s temperature climbs to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) or higher. Untreated, it can damage organs or even cause death.

One of the main recommendations for people to protect themselves from the heat is to stay inside and avoid exercise during the hottest parts of the day, especially between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. When outside, stay in the shade.

Experts advise that people wear light, loose-fitting clothes, a hat and sunscreen and drink plenty of water, even if you don’t feel thirsty, but avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks.

According to Judith Linden, a professor in the emergency medicine department at Boston University’s school of medicine, it’s also important to watch out for others.