Publication Date August 13, 2016 | Think Progress

Heat Wave Blasts New York To D.C., Sign Of More Extreme Weather To Come

United States
Ava Owens gets a cool shower from her mom Laura Owens at a pool in Hasting-on-Hudson, N.Y. Photo: Seth Wenig, AP
Ava Owens gets a cool shower from her mom Laura Owens at a pool in Hasting-on-Hudson, N.Y. Photo: Seth Wenig, AP

The National Weather Service has issued an “excessive heat warning” in the Mid-Atlantic. A heat index of up to 110ºF “will increase the risk for heat-related health issues, especially for the elderly, those with chronic health problems such as lung and heart disease, those working outdoors, and other sensitive groups of people,” the National Weather Service advised.

The New York Office of Emergency Management directed people not to exercise outdoors over the weekend. According to the city’s health department, more people across the country die in heat-related deaths than in any other type of weather event. Buildings without air-conditioning see temperatures rise even beyond the 105º-110ºF experienced outside.

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For decades, scientists have been warning that climate change — the cumulative outcome of over a century of burning fossil fuels and emitting carbon molecules that trap heat in the atmosphere — will create longer, more intense heat waves.

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In 2013, Columbia University scientists warned that by 2020, New York City could see a 20 percent rise in heat-related deaths. By 2050, it could see a 90 percent rise