On Wednesday at midnight, two days after the scorching heat wave in the western United States, Las Vegas was barely cold.
During the course of the day and in the following days, the temperatures in desert cities reached historic highs and reached a high of 46.6 degrees Celsius, setting new records. Because of the dangerously hot weather at the beginning of the year .. Meanwhile, dust and smoke from a nearby wildfire hung in the harsh heat, throwing brown haze over the valley.
Tourists still frolic on the scorching sidewalk The Vegas Strip and many others are lined up in a maze of slot machines, restaurants and shops in an air-conditioned casino Not everyone can escape inside.
“I’m dying. I’m going to pass out,” said Violet, a woman in denim thongs and a crop top.
Violet poses a photo with a passerby and lets her live off the strip. She radiated both from the sparkle of her body that covered her arms and chest and from the beads of sweat that gathered on her face in the midday sun. She has heart disease, she said, leaning on a flower pot that she and several other women had I kept the water bottle empty during the selfie. “I’m here because I have to pay the rent, but it’s so hot that I get dehydrated easily.”
When the temperature of the strip reaches 116 ° C, the man finds it difficult to cross the street. Photo: Gabriel Cannon / Guardian
Researchers predict this week’s heat wave as follows: Be the first to reach the American Southwest before the end of summer. Las Vegas, spurred on by the climate crisis and reinforced by the city’s enormous growth, is already boiling – and it’s getting worse.
Las Vegas’ population is skyrocketing and the city extends into the surrounding desert. It’s hot enough to burn off any excess concrete. On hot days, highways and streets are littered with broken cars. Commuter cars, ambulances, vans and buses overheat when traveling between city centers.
“The climate in Nevada is changing,” said the Nevada government’s climate protection initiative. Website report. “In fact, the Nevadans say, you have already noticed these changes and are being influenced by them. Climate change is back. “
This change is particularly noticeable in Sin City and the surrounding area. Warming faster than almost anywhere else in the United States. Heat waves aren’t just hot, they’re common. Summer weather is increasingly invading spring, and there is less and less room for relief.
The increase in intensity has not been overlooked by workers facing dangerous situations, but “nobody in the valley is allowed to speak,” said Jeff, a clerk and doorman. It was. He refused to give his last name for fear of retaliation from his employer, an off-strip hotel.
“Ins and outs are what you get,” he added, explaining that his duty is to constantly switch between extreme heat and cold air conditioning.
Women taking photos with tourists endure the heat wave. Photo: Gabriel Cannon / Guardian
“When I get in the car, I sit outside, it looks like 140F, and then I just sweat,” he said. “I saw the men faint and start shaking. It’s cruel. “
But his job is to provide him with health and life insurance, so he plans to hold on.
Rafael Martinez, who works as a security guard, said he stood outside during the eight-hour shift. He saw some people quickly lose consciousness on the street. “People keep passing out,” he said. “I sweat and feel hot, but I’m not the one to complain.” He often drinks water, which he said helps a little. He always tries to be in the shadows. “When you stand in the sun, it dries up.”
In southern Nevada, coroner data shows that, according to federal government data: Heat-related deaths are on the rise. Authorities stress the importance of not leaving people or animals in the car and are starting a new animal cruelty regulation to crack down on owners who leave their pets outside for more than 10 hours a day during the heat recommendations. Have. 105F.
But for outside workers, low-income residents who do not have access to home air conditioning, and more than 6,000 foreigners living in Las Vegas, suffocating situations can be costly.
Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocate, said: Heat stress and heat stroke alone can be fatal, but researchers also found that people exposed to high temperatures are often exposed to chronic kidney disease, weather also leads to Air quality problems, detection of harmful pollutants during the climb Increased energy consumption of air conditioning systems. Studies show that fever affects the brain and slows down cognitive function.
Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, has cooling centers during hot temperatures, but many of them close at night even when nighttime temperatures don’t drop. The problem lies in the cityscape itself.
“In urban areas, we can see the frequency of extreme heat rising more clearly and distinctly,” says Dahl. “This is because of the overall combination of warming outside of urban areas that we all experience, but it’s amplified by the use of man-made materials,” she added. And it doesn’t just burn the locals. “As cities develop more and have less natural land cover, it will amplify the warming signals that we see around the world,” she said.
Las Vegas has a booming population and construction continues even on the hottest days. Photo: Gabriel Cannon / Guardian 
External employees often have to bear the brunt of the extreme conditions. Photo: Gabriel Cannon / Guardian
Far away from the glamor and charm of the strip, the new houses seem to march in a row through the desert. Despite the increasingly difficult situation, the population is growing. The county’s population increased by more than 64% between 2000 and 2018. Authorities estimate the number will continue to rise and that nearly 3.2 million people will call the area their hometown over the next 40 years. This is an increase of almost 40%.
In the hope of running out of space, the county’s new land law demanded more land from the federal government and easily deducted 30,000 acres of public land in the surrounding desert.
Meanwhile, construction continues. Housing construction at various stages of completion is fully exhibited throughout the city, and even on the hottest days, workers encourage the items to complete them.
“It’s hard and hot, but if you don’t work you don’t get any money,” said Ignacio Regrelar, who completes the drywall at 116 degrees a day. He and his team work eight hours in extreme heat. “The problem is that if your boss says you’re ready and don’t, he’s taking someone else,” he said. “Workers need work, but it is difficult.”
The housing development also includes formerly rural areas. Las Vegas family-owned cattle, which have raised pigs in the area for six generations, were evicted from the city in 2018.
Family-run pig farms that have operated in the city for generations have been pushed into the desert. Photo: Gabriel Cannon / Guardian 
In Las Vegas livestock, pigs can be cooled with mud and overhead sprinklers to cope with higher temperatures. But the people who take care of them have the most problems. Photo: Gabriel Cannon / Guardian
The farm uses food waste from Las Vegas casinos to feed thousands of pigs. Today they are based deep in the desert and share the land provided by local landfills. “Our family lived in Las Vegas for 50 years, but we’re here now because the city grew up around them,” said farm manager Sarah Stalord. “Hopefully the house won’t get that far, but you never know.”
Pigs can withstand the heat if they are regularly soaked in water, but “I think the problem is getting people here safely when it gets hot,” she said. She worries about rising temperatures and the valley she calls her hometown, especially after spending the day on three-digit numbers. There is no energy in the yard.
“If it was very hot at night it would be worrying,” she said. “Someone has to be here so that the pigs don’t get too hot. Nobody is relieved, ”she added. “The equipment doesn’t break either.”
“It’s brutal”: Las Vegas is boiling in a violent heat wave – and it gets worse | Las Vegas
Source link “It’s brutal”: Las Vegas is boiling in a violent heat wave – and it gets worse | Las Vegas
