US announces new measures addressing extreme heat as temperatures soar

LOS ANGELES - US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new actions to protect communities from extreme heat.

Biden directed the US Department of Labor to issue first-ever Hazard Alert for heat and announced new investments to protect communities.

Since 2011, more than 400 American workers have died due to environmental heat exposure, and thousands more were hospitalised every year, according to a White House release.

The Hazard Alert will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law.

The US Department of Labor will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture, while the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules, according to the release, reported Xinhua.

Millions of Americans are currently experiencing the effects of extreme heat, which is growing in intensity, frequency, and duration due to the climate crisis.

Around 150 million people from coast to coast are under heat alerts Thursday after extreme heat expanded into the highly populated I-95 corridor, bringing the highest temperatures of the year there, according to a CNN report.

The heat persists in the South and Southwest, while heat indexes - a measure of what the temperature feels like when accounting for relative humidity - are expected to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit across many areas in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast through Friday.

The water temperature around the tip of Florida has hit hot tub levels, and may have set new world record for the warmest seawater.

The extreme heat has led to climbing heat-related deaths, and overcrowded emergency rooms and public cooling places.

Biden is scheduled to have meetings on Thursday with mayors from two cities grappling with high temperatures, which are Phoenix of Arizona, and San Antonio of Texas.

Biden will learn directly about how their communities are being impacted by extreme heat and discuss the steps to protect communities like theirs, according to the White House.

Biden noted that some 600 people die from extreme heat each year in the United States, more than those from floods, hurricanes and tornadoes combined.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plans to invest up to US$7 million to improve weather forecasts. In partnership with universities and other institutions, NOAA will establish a new Data Assimilation Consortium focused on developing better weather-prediction capabilities.

These improved forecasts will allow communities to better prepare for extreme weather events, including long periods of extreme heat, said the White House.

The US Department of the Interior is investing US$152 million to expand water storage and enhance climate resilience in the states of California, Colorado and Washington, according to the release.

The world has just sweltered through the hottest June in the 174-year global climate record.

Average global surface temperature in June was 1.89 degrees Fahrenheit (1.05 degrees Celsius) above average, ranking June 2023 as Earth's warmest June on record, according to NOAA.

Climate change and strong El Niño events are behind the unprecedented weather conditions, according to scientists. - BERNAMA