THE TELEGRAPH
Temperatures have soared so high in Arizona that cacti are keeling over and dying, a botanical garden has revealed.
Saguaro cacti in the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, are rotting from the inside out because of record-breaking temperatures which have remained above 43C for nearly all of July.
The plants are “beautifully adapted to heat and aridity, but they have their limits,” the garden’s chief science officer Kimberlie McCue said.
She told CNN they appear “fairly normal” before suddenly losing limbs or giving way completely, having been left “highly stressed” by the temperatures.
The cacti have become dehydrated by the ongoing heatwave, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to infections and insects.
Ms McCue said plant deaths had become more common at the botanical garden in the last three years as high temperatures became more frequent.
Erik Rakestraw, a curator at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tuscon, added that the saguaro faced an existential threat because new generations of the cactus will struggle to grow as temperatures increase. Saguaro is the tallest cactus species in the US and can reach up to 40 feet tall.
It comes after Arizona’s most populous county recorded seven heat-related deaths last week. With a further 249 deaths under investigation in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, that number could rise even higher.
The city, which is nicknamed the “Valley of the Sun”, hit 27 consecutive days above 43C on Wednesday.
There has not been a single overnight low under 32.2C since July 9, which means residents cannot recover after the sun goes down and are more susceptible to heatstroke.
Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego said on Thursday that while the city is notorious for its heat, the problem had intensified this year.
In remarks reported by The Arizona Republic, she said: “Right now, this summer has been unprecedented. … We feel like we’re on the front lines of climate change.”
Phoenix was the first US city to create a heat department in 2021, with the aim of planting more trees, opening more cooling centres and ensuring residents have functioning air conditioners.
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