As searing temperatures and humidity settled in over states reaching from parts of the Gulf coast to the Carolinas, more than 100 million Americans have been warned to stay indoors where possible.
A combination of heat advisories, excessive heart warnings and excessive heat watches were issued by the US National Weather Service prediction center.
The latest heatwave, which set several high temperature records in the west and south-west, moved into parts of the Gulf coast and the midwest on Monday, expanding to the Great Lakes and east to the Carolinas.
Many Americans are struggling, unable to work from home or indoors, some in areas where buildings are less equipped for extreme heat and where they face soaring utility bills to keep the air conditioning on.
Here we look at the experiences of several people who responded to a Guardian callout on Wednesday, with maximum temperatures and heat indexes recorded by the National Weather Service on 15 June.
‘At night it feels like the bake setting on the oven’
April Turgutalp, 48, self-employed
Magnolia, Texas – max temperature: 97F (36C); max heat index: 107F (42C)
My husband and I moved here in 2015 and found the weather was mild and nice although we’ve had several strong rains including Hurricane Harvey and have been flooded a few times.
But this summer has been exceptionally hot. Nights are no longer cooling down – a first for the seven years we have lived here.
We’re dealing with hell’s temperatures during the day. I swear it’s cooler when I open the oven door and it’s on the broiler setting than when we open the front door. If we didn’t have our air conditioning we would have died from heatstroke already.
We’ve got a pool and all there is to do outside is soak in the water until your skin shrivels up. Even in the shade, doing nothing, you sweat.
At night, temperatures go down to what feels like the bake setting on the oven. I’d say we’re well done – crispy even.
It’s not even July yet. We won’t need to have fireworks on Independence Day because nobody is going to want to leave their house to sit in the heat at night and watch the display while feeling like they might spontaneously combust themselves.
I know it’s only going to get worse because of climate change. I think places like Texas will have to transition to night shifts, although we have our own businesses so luckily we are able to stay comfortable and in areas with AC.
Thank God I didn’t have kids so I don’t worry about the torture they would endure.
‘The trees don’t move. The dogs don’t move. The cat doesn’t move’
Ann Carlisle, 68, retired
Terre Haute, Indiana – max temperature: 96F (36C); max heat index: 103F (39C)
I have some breathing issues caused by asthma so I just don’t go outside unless it’s absolutely necessary. When it is this hot and humid out, it affects my breathing, so I generally can’t be outside more than maybe five or 10 minutes or I can’t breathe. The air conditioning helps me survive.
My husband and I have three dogs so we keep the fans running in the garage all day for them. They’re suffering, probably way worse than I am. Because I’m retired, I have the luxury of being able to stay indoors when the weather is like this. But it’s pretty boring.
There’s no breeze outside. I live on a farm surrounded by trees. The trees don’t move. The dogs don’t move. The cat doesn’t move.
My husband is a painter who does a large volume of exterior work at this time of year. I’m worried about him working in the heat and have been encouraging him to take frequent breaks and drink lots of water.
The climate has changed considerably and I see it getting worse. When I was a teenager, it would get hot but it wasn’t unbearable. We used to have seasons. Spring, summer, winter, fall. You don’t really have that any more. We pretty much go from winter to summer, to winter again.
‘I tried walking around one block and felt like I was going to overheat’
Madeline Katan, 55, works in pharmaceuticals
Chicago, Illinois – max temperature: 100F (38C); max heat index: 102F (39C)
I work from home, so I’m able to stay indoors for most of the day and have only been taking walks before 8am or after 9pm. On my morning walk, I go to Starbucks for iced coffee. I did try walking around a block one mid-afternoon and felt like I was going to overheat so immediately went back home.
There’s no doubt this is climate change. I’m very worried about the future – there is nowhere to run. Not even Chicago with its natural resources of abundant water will be viable with sustained temperatures like these. If the heat index is too high no large lake is going to save you.
I can’t imagine what places that are hotter than the US will experience going forward.
‘Sitting in a wheelchair is like sitting in a heated seat 24/7’
Michael Arazan, 47
St Louis, Missouri –max temperature: 98F (37C); max heat index: 102F (39C)
I’m disabled following a spinal cord injury and sitting in a wheelchair is like sitting in a heated seat 24/7.
It’s not the heat itself that gets you so much, but the humidity. There’s no relief from sweating – you don’t cool off when it evaporates.
Plus, your backside gets completely soaked which makes it even harder to transfer in and out of a chair.
‘Within 15 minutes of starting work I’m already drenched in sweat’
Anne Davis, delivery driver
Birmingham, Alabama – max temperature: 96F (36C); max heat index: 108F (42C)
It’s beyond hot. I leave for work at 6am and within 15 minutes I’m already drenched in sweat. I’ve been drinking three times as much water and not going anywhere near coffee in the morning because all I want is a cool refreshment.
It’s a blessing that the truck I currently run has air conditioning, but it doesn’t stop the heat from then sucking you dry the minute the door opens.
We’ve had a couple of drivers experience severe dehydration over the past few days, and it’s something you have to be very careful of down here.
At home, there’s the utility bill from the AC to worry about. During a normal summer, the bill goes way up from winter, but this year the bill is going to be astronomical.
