"Extreme" risk Parts of the USA continue to groan under the heat after days

Parts of the USA have been in sweltering heat for days. The US weather service expected the heatwave to peak in the north-east of the country on Sunday (local time) and move south at the beginning of the week. In the densely populated region between the US capital Washington and New York, the US weather service continued to classify the heat risk as "extreme".

Overall, heat warnings were still in place for more than 100 million people in the USA on Sunday, from the East Coast to the Midwest to the interior of California. The warnings are based on a heat index, which is intended to represent the perceived heat taking into account the humidity.

In the region around the capital Washington, the highest temperatures for a long time were measured on Saturday, around 38 degrees in Baltimore, Dulles and Arlington. In the New England region further north, however, temperatures have already cooled down somewhat. According to forecasts, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes could occur there.

Emergency admissions soar

According to a report in the New York Times, citing the US Department of Health and Human Services, the number of heat-related emergency admissions in the regions of the USA most affected by the heatwave rose sharply last week.

Heatwaves have become more intense and more likely worldwide due to climate change. Other countries are also currently experiencing very high temperatures, which can be fatal, especially for the elderly and sick. Hundreds of people are said to have died during the Muslim pilgrimage Hajj in Saudi Arabia this year, many of them due to the extreme heat.