US heatwave: Extreme heat claims 147 lives in 5 counties
US heatwave: Extreme heat in the US claimed lives of at least 147 people in just five counties.
The deaths reported occurred in three states that have suffered the worst.
As of early August, 64 people had died in Pima County, Arizona; 39 in Maricopa County, Arizona; 26 in Clark County, Nevada; 11 in Webb County, Texas; and seven in Harris County, Texas.
Meanwhile, several heat-related deaths were also reported from California, parts of the South and the Midwest.
Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix and has officially tallied at least 39 heat-related deaths, has 312 more deaths still under investigation for possible heat-related causes of death.
Phoenix logged the hottest month of any US city on record, with 31 consecutive days at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit from June into July.
July 2023 set a new record as the hottest month ever documented on Earth. This surpasses the previous record set in July 2019 by 0.33 degrees Celsius. Additionally, Copernicus noted that last month's average air temperatures were 0.72 degrees Celsius higher compared to the typical July averages from 1991 to 2020.
The average temperature was nearly one degree higher than the July average for the period 1991-2020, during a month characterised by global wildfires and widespread land and marine heatwaves.
- With inputs from agencies
