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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Léonie Chao-Fong (now) and Maya Yang (earlier)

Texas heatwave blamed for 13 deaths as scorching temperatures and smoke spread across US – as it happened

United States Texas Chicago Detroit
A man splashes his face with water in San Antonio, Texas.
A man splashes his face with water in San Antonio, Texas. Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters

Summary of the day

Here’s a recap of today’s developments:

  • Huge swaths of the US continue to face extreme weather as temperatures persist into the triple digits in the south and south-west while smoke pollution is blighting the midwest.

  • At least 13 people have died in Texas due to heat-related illnesses, according to officials. Eleven of the Texas heat-related deaths occurred in Webb county, which includes Laredo.

  • More than 120 million people in the US are under air quality alerts, according to analysis by CNN. The latest figure accounts for the addition of the New York City and Philadelphia areas.

  • Pennsylvania’s department of environmental protection has declared a “code red” air quality alert for the entire state due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

  • For a second day in a row, Chicago and Detroit have some of the worst air quality in the world. The smoke from Canadian wildfires is exacerbating air quality issues for poor and minority communities, who are more likely to live near polluting plants and have higher rates of asthma.

  • Record-setting heat in Texas has sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials.

  • This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000 sq km (29,000 sq miles) burning across eastern and western Canada. With much of Canada still experiencing unusually warm and dry conditions, “there’s still no end in sight”, Copernicus senior scientist Mark Parrington said.

Updated

At least 21 people have died as a result of an ongoing heatwave in northern Mexico, CNN is reporting, citing local health officials.

According to a statement from the Tamaulipas state’s secretary of health, there are currently 29 people in emergency rooms in Tamaulipas hospitals run by the Mexican Social Security Institute.

Mexico has seen record-breaking temperatures for more than 10 days, while the cities of Monclova and Chihuahua have set all-time record temperatures of 46C (115F) and 41C (107F), respectively.

Updated

Satellite imagery shared by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (Cira) shows the movement of wildfire smoke across the midwest.

Smoke from Canada’s wildfires is increasing health risks in Black and poorer communities in the US, according to a report.

Detroit, a mostly Black city with a poverty rate of about 30%, had some of the worst air quality in the country on Wednesday.

The smoke from Canadian wildfires is exacerbating air quality issues for poor and minority communities, who are more likely to live near polluting plants and have higher rates of asthma, AP News reports.

Detroit’s southwest side is home to a number of sprawling refineries and manufacturing plants. It is one of the poorest parts of the city. According to a 2022 report by the American Lung Association, the city’s and short-term particle pollution ranked among the worst in the nation.

Dr Ruma Srivastava, a pediatric pulmonologist at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, said:

Being close to those refineries — that’s an environmental factor that’s difficult to control. It does increase their risk for asthma flareups. For them, it’s even more important to follow the (air quality safety) recommendations.”

Here are some of the latest images from the newswires of smoke from Canadian wildfires spreading across the US.

Hazy sky in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Hazy sky in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Quinn Glabicki/Reuters
A haze lingers over Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, Michigan.
A haze lingers over Lake Michigan in St Joseph, Michigan. Photograph: Don Campbell/AP
Haze blankets the downtown Pittsburgh skyline as seen from Elliott, Pennsylvania.
Haze blankets the downtown Pittsburgh skyline as seen from Elliott, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Benjamin B Braun/AP

Code red air quality alert issued for DC region tomorrow

The Metropolitan Washington council of governments (COG) has forecast a code red air day for the Washington region on Thursday due to smoke coming from Canadian wildfires.

Authorities are recommending people in sensitive groups to avoid long or intense outdoor activities. Healthy individuals are advised to limit long or intense outdoor activities.

The American baseball team the Pittsburgh Pirates have confirmed that they will play Wednesday’s game as scheduled, despite air quality index levels at “unhealthy” levels.

The Pennsylvania department of environmental protection has declared a “code red” alert for the entire state of Pennsylvania, meaning that air pollution concentrations within the local region are unhealthy for the general population.

The Pirates, who are hosting the San Diego Padres tonight, said in a statement:

We are currently planning to host tonight’s game as scheduled. We will continue to closely monitor the air quality index levels around the ballpark.

The air quality health advisory in New York will remain in effect through Thursday, officials have said.

Authorities issued a health advisory for unhealthy levels of pollutants as wildfire smoke funneling from Canada moved across the US.

The impact of the smoke will likely be seen through Friday and possible over the weekend, the New York Times cited Basil Seggos, the commissioner of the New York state department of environmental conservation, as saying.

Noel Gallagher has cancelled a Wisconsin concert due to issues with air quality brought on by the ongoing Canadian wildfires.

The gig by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds was scheduled to take place this evening at Breese Stevens Field in Madison.

Concert promoter FPC Live announced the cancellation, writing that the decision was “based on the Public Health Madison & Dane County’s Air Quality Advisory”.

Refunds will be available for ticket-holders, it added.

Unhealthy levels of smoke are expected for a wide swath of the US midwest today due to smoke from Canadian wildfires, the National Weather Service said.

More than 120m Americans under air quality alerts – report

The number of people affected by air quality alerts across the United States tied directly to wildfire smoke has risen to more than 120 million, according to a report.

On Wednesday morning, more than 80 million people from the midwest to the east coast had been under air quality alerts as a result of Canadian wildfires. The latest figure by CNN accounts for the addition of the New York City and Philadelphia areas.

The worst air quality continues to be over the Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Indianapolis metro areas, it said.

Updated

The Chicago Family Health Center has released a list of places that residents can access for safe air quality and proper ventilation as the city remains shrouded in smog due to smoke drifting from Canadian wildfires.

Air quality is currently dangerous in Chicago, particularly for sensitive populations including those with heart or lung disease, older adults, pregnant people and young children.

Updated

A series of air quality alerts have been issued across Maryland and Virginia as smoke from Canadian wildfires spill over into the United States.

As of Wednesday afternoon, code red air quality alerts are in place for western Maryland while code orange alerts have been issued across the rest of the state and northern Virginia.

Here are some photos coming through the newswires of the extreme heatwaves spreading across the country:

A resident and his dog sunbathe at Zilker Park on 27 June 2023 in Austin, Texas.
A resident and his dog sunbathe at Zilker Park on 27 June in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Images
Dogs and residents enjoy water at Barton Creek pool on 27 June in Austin, Texas.
Dogs and residents enjoy water at Barton Creek pool on 27 June in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Images
Construction crews work to repair a road that was damaged from the heat in Houston, Texas on 27 June.
Construction crews work to repair a road that was damaged from the heat in Houston, Texas on 27 June. Photograph: Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images
Macey Staes looks at a cat that was rescued from a vacant apartment where 13 animals died because of the heat at the Houston Humane Society in Texas on 27 June.
Macey Staes looks at a cat that was rescued from a vacant apartment where 13 animals died because of the heat at the Houston Humane Society in Texas on 27 June. Photograph: Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images
People use showers to cool off from the heat after getting out of the ocean in Miami Beach, Florida, on 26 June.
People use showers to cool off from the heat after getting out of the ocean in Miami Beach, Florida, on 26 June. Photograph: Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images
A homeless person rests among their belongings during a heatwave in Miami, Florida, on 26 June.
A homeless person rests among their belongings during a heatwave in Miami, Florida, on 26 June. Photograph: Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

At least 13 deaths in Texas amid heatwave

Scorching heat has been blamed for at least 13 deaths in Texas.

The Associated Press reports:

California, meanwhile, was facing its first major heat wave of the year. The National Weather Service warned that the dry, hot, windy conditions were ripe for dangerous fires in parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

Mid-week temperatures were forecast to surpass 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) in much of the Southeast and high humidity was expected to push heat index values above 115 degrees (46 Celsius) in some areas.

Lingering power outages after weekend storms compounded the heat-related misery in Arkansas. More than 10,000 residents were still without power in the central part of the state. In Cabot, northeast of Little Rock, a local senior center provided cool air and a place to charge cellphones and tablets for those without electricity.

“Usually I just come at noon for the meal,” Clint Hickman, still waiting for his power to come back on, said in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s kind of nice to have a little cool air, so I came a little earlier.”

Among the casualties was a man who died late Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana, the second heat-related death in the state in an unusually warm June. The 49-year-old from neighboring Bossier City had been found lying on a sidewalk in Shreveport, where Sunday’s temperature hit 97 degrees (36 degrees Celsius) — 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the average for the date.

The death of a 62-year-old woman on June 21 in Keithville also was blamed on heat. Relatives found her after she had spent several days without electricity because of earlier severe storms, the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office said.

In southeast Louisiana, the National Weather Service office in Slidell issued an excessive heat warning on June 16, the earliest in the year it’s ever done so for that area, a meteorologist said.

Eleven of the Texas heat-related deaths occurred in Webb County, which includes Laredo. The dead ranged in age from 60 to 80 years old and many had underlying health conditions, according to Webb County Medical Examiner Dr. Corinne Stern, who said the level of heat in the county was unprecedented.

Updated

The American Red Cross has issued a list of safety measures for the public to take amid the extreme heatwaves spreading across the country.

  • Hot cars can be deadly. Never leave children or pets in your vehicle. The inside temperature of the car can quickly reach 120 degrees.

  • Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids. Avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol.

  • Check on family, friends and neighbors who do not have air conditioning, who spend much of their time alone or who are more likely to be affected by the heat.

  • If you don’t have air conditioning, seek relief from the heat during the warmest part of the day in places like schools, libraries, theaters, malls, etc.

  • Avoid extreme temperature changes.

  • Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors because they absorb the sun’s rays.

  • Slow down, stay indoors and avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day.

  • Postpone outdoor games and activities.

  • Take frequent breaks and use a buddy system when working outdoors.

Speaking to the Guardian on Monday, Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University said the university’s campus at College Station has had a string of days above 37C (100F), when it usually doesn’t hit such peaks until August.

“It’s depressing to think we’re not even in July and we are getting this sort of heat,” he said.

When it’s this hot you are a prisoner in your own house, you are a prisoner to air conditioning.

Dessler said that the southern part of Texas will probably have one of its hottest Junes ever recorded as it is most acutely affected by the heat dome that has its epicenter in Mexico – the Mexican cities of Monclova and Chihuahua have set all-time record temperatures of of 46C (115F) and 41C (107F), respectively.

This heat dome, one the strongest ever recorded, was formed by a high-pressure atmospheric system that created a sinking column of warming air that trapped latent heat already absorbed by the landscape, like a sort of lid. Such events typically occur without rain and are cloudless, allowing the sun to bake the surface unhindered, causing temperatures to spike.

“The heat evaporates water and then just heats up the land,” said Dessler.

If you have this sort of high-pressure system sitting stationary over a region, you can have these really impressive heatwaves.

Evacuation orders in Arizona as crews fight Diamond fire

Evacuation orders remained in effect for residents in Scottsdale, Arizona, as crews continued to fight a bush fire that began on Tuesday night.

The Diamond fire broke out at about 5.15pm local time yesterday and within hours had spread across an area of 2,500 acres without any containment, fire officials said.

A nearby community of about 1,145 residents were under evacuation orders, FOX10 Phoenix reported. No homes have reportedly been damaged and no injuries reported.

Crews working overnight were “very successful” controlling the spread of the fire, KTAR News cited local authorities as saying.

A hotshot crew along with two state hand crews were able to get around the entire fire. So they have line in, and they’re working right now just to make sure that line is secure.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation, officials said.

Updated

Air quality alert for Detroit extended through tomorrow

An air quality alert issued for Michigan has been extended through tomorrow, with Detroit’s air quality ranked among the worst in the country due to Canadian wildfires for a second day in a row.

Weather forecasters are expecting low-level winds to change direction, potentially resulting in more smoke and reduced visibility, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The paper cites National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Freitag as saying:

Things are going to improve. Unfortunately, tonight, our winds are going to flip back to the south, southeast direction and that’s going to bring back more smoke.

Updated

Chris Mendoza once landed in the hospital with heatstroke from working inside a food truck.

After that experience, he set a rule for the food truck he now owns in El Paso, Star Burgers & Fries, which serves Star Wars-themed hamburgers. “Once the internal temperature of the truck hits 140F, we have to shut down,” he said.

On Monday, the high temperature in the desert city was 110F; inside the food truck was even hotter. That evening he suspended service for an hour because it was too hot to work safely. Mendoza said:

I’d rather lose a customer than make a burger, because I care more about people’s health than the profit.

While final autopsies are still pending, several deaths have already been linked to the extreme heat. A utility lineman died on 19 June in east Texas after he had been treated for a heat-related illness. A Dallas postal worker died on 20 June. The next day, a 17-year-old died after collapsing at a state park outside Amarillo. A 14-year-old male hiker died on 23 June in Big Bend national park, where temperatures topped 119F, and his stepfather died when he crashed his vehicle seeking help.

Emergency responders have also found several deceased individuals in the desert along the US-Mexico border in recent days. Since 22 June, five bodies have been recovered in Sunland Park, New Mexico, just over the border from Texas and a common crossing point for migrants in the El Paso and Juárez area. The causes of death and individuals’ identities have not been disclosed.

Read the full story here.

Here are some images from Texas, where record-setting temperatures have sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials.

The heatwave has posed a health risk to millions of Texans, especially those who work outside or are homeless.

Fernando Oviedo splashes his face with water in between placing gravel at a new build in a residential neighborhood in the middle of the day during a period of hot weather in San Antonio, Texas.
Fernando Oviedo splashes his face with water in between placing gravel at a new build in a residential neighborhood in the middle of the day during a period of hot weather in San Antonio, Texas. Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters
Construction and landscape workers place gravel in the middle of the day during a period of hot weather in San Antonio, Texas.
Construction and landscape workers place gravel in the middle of the day during a period of hot weather in San Antonio, Texas. Photograph: Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters
A man dunks his head to cool off in Barton Creek Pool on June 27, 2023 in Austin, Texas.
A man dunks his head to cool off in Barton Creek Pool on June 27, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Residents cool off at Barton Creek in Austin, Texas.
Residents cool off at Barton Creek in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Record-setting Texas heat sends hundreds of people to emergency rooms

Record-setting heat in Texas has sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials.

Temperature records fell across Texas during the last two weeks, putting June 2023 on pace to be the hottest June ever in some parts of the state. From the border city of Del Rio to the capital city, Austin, temperatures hit triple digits for days straight.

Emergency medical providers are responding to heat-related illnesses as extreme temperatures become more frequent and prolonged. On 20 June, at least 350 people visited emergency departments across Texas because of heat illnesses, according to state health officials. That was the highest number of ER visits for heat-related illnesses on any single day in 2022 or 2023 so far. Not all hospitals and clinics are included in the state data, so the total is likely an undercount.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Texas cities also reported high numbers of calls for heat-related illnesses this month. Houston EMS fielded 416 calls related to heat illnesses in the first 23 days of June. Even Texans accustomed to hot weather have been taken aback by the dangerous conditions.

“We are on pace to beat our numbers from last June,” said Austin-Travis county EMS paramedic and spokesperson Christa Stedman. “And that was the hottest June on record.”

Read the full story here.

A code orange air quality has been issued for Delaware due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires, with people in sensitive groups advised to limit time outdoors.

An update from the Delaware department of natural resources and environmental control (DNREC) posted Wednesday morning reads:

At this time, light west-northwesterly winds are expected to transport smoke into the First State between mid-morning and early afternoon as a trough of low pressure departs to the east.

The New York City fire department will hand out free N95 or KN95 masks as officials warned air quality conditions could deteriorate today and tomorrow.

Updated

A warming world is transforming some major snowfalls over mountains into extreme rain, worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year as well as long-term water shortages, a new study has found.

Using rain and snow measurements since 1950 and computer simulations for future climate, scientists calculated that for every degree Fahrenheit the world warms, extreme rainfall at higher elevation increases by 8.3% (15% for every degree Celsius), according to a study in Wednesday’s journal Nature.

Heavy rain in mountains causes a lot more problems than big snow, including flooding, landslides and erosion, scientists said. And the rain is not conveniently stored away like snowpack that can recharge reservoirs in spring and summer.

Lead author Mohammed Ombadi, a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory hydrologist and climate scientist, said:

It is not just a far-off problem that is projected to occur in the future, but the data is actually telling us that it’s already happening and we see that in the data over the past few decades.

Read the full story here.

A code orange air quality has been issued for Maryland due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

Most of the state, including the Baltimore metro area, is under a code orange alert, meaning that people in sensitive groups should limit time outdoors.

Garrett and Allegany counties, located in western Maryland, are under a code red air quality alert, meaning the air is unhealthy for everyone.

In a statement, the Maryland department of environment said:

This is a very complex situation that will need to be monitored very closely over the next several days.

Updated

This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000 sq km (29,000 sq miles) burning across eastern and western Canada.

As of Tuesday, firefighters were battling 494 blazes throughout the country, more than half of them classified as out-of-control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

With much of Canada still experiencing unusually warm and dry conditions, “there’s still no end in sight”, Copernicus senior scientist Mark Parrington said.

Updated

As a deadly, record-breaking heatwave puts Texas’s grid to the test, renewable power sources are helping the state maintain energy reliability, contrary to some of the state’s lawmakers claims that clean energy is less reliable.

Sweltering temperatures in Texas for more than two weeks have forced people to stay in their homes with their air conditioners cranked, causing energy demand to soar to record levels.

An atypically large number of the state’s ageing, run-down coal and gas-fired power plants have failed amid the spikes. That’s especially troubling because as the only state in the continental US with its own grid – a decision made to avoid federal regulation – Texas can access very little power from other states.

But even amid three-digit temperatures, the state has still managed to avoid rolling blackouts this month. A key reason, energy analysts say, is the state’s supply of solar power, which has doubled since early 2022.

A solar electric generating farm is seen in San Antonio, Texas, in October 2021.
A solar electric generating farm is seen in San Antonio, Texas, in October 2021. Photograph: Tannen Maury/EPA

Doug Lewin, president of the Austin-based renewable power consulting firm Stoic Energy, said:

The additional solar that we’ve had, I think has likely been determinative in making a difference between outages and not having outages.

On hot, sunny, summer days, solar performs exceptionally well. During the afternoons, solar has accounted for upwards of 15% of the state’s energy supply.

Read the full story here.

President Joe Biden arrived in Chicago earlier this morning, touching down at O’Hare International Airport under hazy skies caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires.

Biden is expected to deliver a major speech at 1pm EST in Chicago.

Marine One with US President Joe Biden flies over a hazy Chicago, Illinois.
Marine One with US President Joe Biden flies over a hazy Chicago, Illinois. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
US Marine Corp Ospreys and White House staff, accompanying US President Joe Biden, arrive at the Soldier Field Landing Zone, in Chicago, Illinois.
US Marine Corp Ospreys and White House staff, accompanying US President Joe Biden, arrive at the Soldier Field Landing Zone, in Chicago, Illinois. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Some 80m people from the midwest to the East Coast of the US are under air quality alerts due to smoke from Canadian wildfires sweeping the nation.
Some 80m people from the midwest to the East Coast of the US are under air quality alerts due to smoke from Canadian wildfires sweeping the nation. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Code red air quality alert issued across Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s department of environmental protection has declared a “code red” air quality alert for the entire state due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

The average Air Quality Index (AQI) for the entire of Wednesday “will likely be in the code red range”, it said, adding that local conditions “could be worse throughout the day”.

Young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should avoid outdoor activities, the department said. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.

A statement by the department reads:

Concentrations of smoke will likely be high throughout the day in western Pennsylvania and increasing throughout the day in eastern Pennsylvania.

Updated

In Chicago, which saw the world’s most unhealthy air quality for several hours yesterday, people with chronic respiratory issues have been urged to limit prolonged outdoor activity.

The National Weather Service has issued another air quality alert for Chicago, while officials have asked people to reduce emissions, such as by car pooling or using public transportation, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Updated

Wildfires raging across Canada, made more intense by global warming, have released more planet-heating carbon dioxide in the first six months of 2023 than in any full year on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000 sq km (29,000 sq miles) burning across eastern and western Canada. That is already greater than the combined area burned in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Hundreds of forest fires since early May have generated nearly 600m tonnes of CO2, equivalent to 88% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions from all sources in 2021, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) reported.

More than half of that carbon pollution went up in smoke in June alone.

People walk near a balustrade at a scenic point of the Mount Royal mountain overlooking the city of Montreal shrouded in haze of smog, on Monday.
People walk near a balustrade at a scenic point of the Mount Royal mountain overlooking the city of Montreal shrouded in haze of smog, on Monday. Photograph: Andre Pichette/EPA

Cams said in a statement:

The emissions from these wildfires are now the largest annual emissions for Canada in the 21 years of our dataset.

Canada’s wildfire season typically peaks in late July or August, with emissions continuing to climb throughout the summer.

As of Tuesday, firefighters were battling 494 blazes throughout the country, more than half of them classified as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Read the full story here.

Updated

Nine deaths in Texas county due to heat, says official

Nine people have died in the last eight days due to heat-related illnesses in Webb county, Texas, according to a medical official.

Webb county medical examiner Dr Corinne Stern, at a meeting with county commissioners, urged residents to stay in their homes if possible. Stern said:

We don’t see this in our county. Laredo knows heat. Webb county knows heat. These are unprecedented temperatures.

Updated

The extreme heatwave affecting tens of millions of Americans was made five times more likely by the heating of Earth’s atmosphere with fossil fuels, according to Climate Central, a non-profit group.

The heatwave comes as one of the strongest heat domes ever recorded has settled over portions of the southern US. Heat domes occur when a high-pressure system and warming air trap latent heat.

Dr Andrew Pershing at Climate Central said:

Human caused climate change made the extreme and extremely unusual temperatures in Mexico and the southern US much more likely. Heat this intense, this early in the year will create stressful conditions for millions of people.

Conditions in New York could deteriorate today and tomorrow, say officials

The New York City health department has warned that air quality conditions could deteriorate today and become even worse on Thursday.

In an update posted about an hour ago, it said:

While we currently project air quality index (AQI) to be in the moderate range (between 51-100) today, wind patterns can quickly change without notice.

At an AQI of 101-150, individuals most likely to be sensitive to a reduction in air quality and should take precautions include children, older adults and people with heart or breathing problems, it said.

Updated

A Florida man and his teenage stepson died on Monday after hiking in extreme heat at Big Bend national park in south-west Texas, according to officials.

The boy died after falling ill during the hike, and his stepfather was killed in a car accident as he tried to find help, authorities said. Their identities weren’t immediately released.

The stepfather, 31, had been hiking the Marufo Vega Trail on Friday with his two stepsons, ages 14 and 21.

Temperatures at the time were 119F (48C), the National Park Service said. Like other parts of Texas, the park was experiencing extreme heat with daily high temperatures ranging from 110F (43C) to 119F.

Read the full story here.

Big Bend national park in Texas.
Big Bend national park in Texas. Photograph: Inge Johnsson/Alamy

Updated

Reports are surfacing from Texas about inmates “being cooked alive” in state jails as the state struggles with a record-breaking heatwave.

Several emails sent from inmates and reviewed by Nexstar reveal inmates grappling with the heat and a lack of hydration.

“I’m having a really hard time breathing right now … It’s so humid you can’t [breathe] … we were in AC for shakedown yesterday all morning and when we came back it was 118 degrees in here and going from AC to that made me sick to the point I threw up my electrolyte drink and I just felt sick and nauseous all day … not sure how long ima last here in the heat,” one inmate wrote.

Another person wrote: “We are still not getting water … They don’t give us respite at all. It’s very hot, we only have one big fan. They don’t give us respite showers AT ALL.”

KXAN reports that out of the 100 units operated by the Texas department of criminal justice, 14 do not have air conditioning. Meanwhile, 55 units have “partial” AC that is available in “respite areas” such as cooled chapels but not in individual cell blocks.

Updated

Heat and smoke bring suffering for almost 100m Americans as climate crisis bites

Good morning.

Extreme waves of heat and smoke spreading across the US have placed over 80 million Americans under air quality alerts.

With smoke from Canada’s wildfires continuing to drift into the US, Chicago and Detroit saw thick shrouds of smoke on Tuesday evening and for several hours, both cities had the worst air qualities in the world, according to IQAir.

Meanwhile, the record-breaking heatwave expanding across southern states was made five times more likely by the climate crisis, according to scientists. In Texas, temperatures have reached triple digits as a record heatwave in the south entered its third week. According to meteorologists, major portions of Texas are forecast to be hotter than 99% of the world on Wednesday, with the heat index value predicted to be as high as 115F, or 46C.

With the country facing extreme temperatures, the North American Energy Reliability Corporation has predicted that two-thirds of North America is “at risk of energy shortfalls this summer during periods of extreme demand”.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates from across the country.

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