Las Vegas residents and visitors have been struggling to deal with a heat wave that scorched the casino and leisure hub with temperatures of 46.1°C or higher for five consecutive days from 6 to 10 July, multiple media outlets report.
The five days of extreme heat shattered the previous record of four days that had been set in July 2005. The current wave has also seen temperatures as high as 48.8°C, a new record for the desert city – and prompting meteorologists to release a timelapse video of crayons melting under the sweltering Nevada sun.
According to John Adair, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service, who spoke with the media, “this is the most extreme heat in the history of record-keeping in Las Vegas since 1937.”
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There are fears that the record could continue to be broken, with the excessive heat stretching through to Friday or beyond. The local forecaster expects the temperatures on Friday and Saturday to reach 46.7°C and 45°C respectively.
Residents who spoke to The Guardian revealed that it was difficult adjusting to the heat. One said “It’s like you can’t really live your life,” as the temperature prevented her from going outside.
Authorities have also issued high temperature alerts across other parts of Nevada, as well as large swathes of California, Arizona and Utah. More than 90 fatalities that have been reported in the western part of the country so far this month could be related to the record heat.
