The U.S. weather by the numbers

NEW YORK TIMES

The United States has continued to see scorching temperatures as a heat wave bakes much of the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s what the numbers tell us about the heat and how it’s affecting Americans:

• Tuesday marked 19 straight days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees in Phoenix, breaking the 18-day streak set in 1974.
• Phoenix also set a record on Monday for the number of consecutive days — eight — when the low temperature was in the 90s.
• More than 86 million people in the United States live in areas that were expected to see dangerous heat levels on Wednesday.
• For 33 days, El Paso has reached temperatures at or above 100 degrees.
• Sacramento and Stockton, Calif., both reached 109 degrees on Sunday, record highs for the date.
• Las Vegas is under an excessive heat warning through Saturday, with temperatures expected to reach 113 degrees this week.
• Las Vegas, N.M., recorded its highest temperature ever when it hit 100 degrees in the city on Tuesday.
• A monitoring station in Hoonah, Alaska, in the state’s southeast panhandle, hit a record high of 78 degrees on Tuesday, breaking the record for that date by one degree. The area’s high temperatures for July are typically closer to 63 degrees.
• Boise Airport, in Idaho, hit 105 degrees on Sunday, 11 degrees warmer than normal for that date.
• Canadian wildfire smoke has made its way to the South. Atlanta had an air quality index of 151 on Tuesday. A number above 100 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, and one above 200 is considered unhealthy for everyone.
• San Angelo, Texas, hit 110 degrees on Tuesday, the 20th day this year it has been 105 degrees or higher there. Last year’s total was 23. There was not a day in 2021 that exceeded 105 degrees.

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