US West Coast hit by crippling heat wave

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By CGTN’s Phil Lavelle

Parts of the US have been in the grip of a major heatwave with some places reaching 120 degrees (48.9 Celsius) in the shade.

It’s led to increased admissions to hospitals for heat exhaustion and power outages as electricity grids struggle to cope with demand.

Arizona, California, and Nevada are three of the most-affected states.

“A lot of people end up in the hospital because they don’t realize, ‘my body can’t handle this kind of heat,'” said NBC4 LA Meteorologist Shanna Mendiola.

“All of the West Coast is under this ridge of high pressure at the moment, this big dome of just sinking air, and it keeps things hot, keeps any storm out of the way, and it’s not really moving so what happens is everything dries out. And that’s why these temperatures go up, it’s just not moving.”

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Temperatures have been soaring – up to 120F in the shade.

Forty million people across the west and southwest United States are under heat warnings. Paramedics are getting constant calls about heat exhaustion.

Even in places used to hot days, this been been an early shock.

California’s Santa Clarita Valley often sees temperatures in the hundreds, but not this early in the year. Summer only officially began a few days ago. These are the kinds of temperatures that tend to arrive from July onwards.

Some airports have had to ground smaller planes because they can’t cope in the sudden change of heat.

There have also been frequent warnings to keep electronics usage down. As homes heat up, residents reach for the air conditioning. And that’s overloading power grids, leading to outages.

But business still have to carry on, regardless of the weather.

AMS Fulfillment, a logistics firm, said it has to ensure employees are comfortable and safe while they work.

CGTN Photo

The company started handing out drinks like Gatorade to keep people hydrated in the heat. The company's warehouse also has special insulation to help regulate the temperature.

“All of our folks are sensitive to the fact that they may have to take more micro breaks, and get some water, because you can only perform to a certain level when your environment is getting hot. Typically, what my managers will do in that situation is come to me and say ‘hey, why don’t we have the crew come in at 6 a.m. tomorrow, so we can get them out at 3:30,'” said CEO Ken Wiseman.

Forecasters say the high temperatures should start to disappear in the coming days.

But these are not unusual highs – they’re just unusual for June. It's turning out to be a long summer.