Phoenix breaks decades-old record with 19th day of scorching heat

PHOENIX — As people around the globe grapple with an ongoing heat wave, Phoenix on Tuesday set a record with its 19th consecutive day of temperatures topping 110 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.

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The searing heat put the city above its 1974 record, when Phoenix dealt with temperatures above 110 degrees for 18 days in June.

Officials recorded the low on Tuesday as 94 degrees, marking the ninth day in a row that the city had seen low temperatures at or above 90 degrees.

Forecasters believe the city will sizzle with temperatures upward of 110 degrees through the end of the week, the Arizona Republic reported. From Wednesday to Friday, highs were expected to be between 112 and 119 degrees, with lows between the mid-80s and low-90s, according to the National Weather Service’s Phoenix office.

“It just feels awful,” Mazy Christensen, a scooper at the Sweet Republic ice cream shop in Phoenix, told The New York Times.

The lengthy heat wave comes as people in other parts of the country and around the globe are also seeing long lasting, unusually hot weather.

“It’s the longest streak that we’ve ever seen in this country,” NOAA Climate Analysis Chief Russell Vose, who chairs a committee on national records, told The Associated Press. “When you have several million people subjected to that sort of thermal abuse, there are impacts.”

Earlier this month, researchers said temperatures across the globe hit an unofficial record high.

“We have never seen anything like this before,” Carlo Buontempo, director of Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, told The Washington Post.

In an excessive heat warning issued for parts of Arizona, the National Weather Service urged people to stay indoors in buildings that have air conditioning and to drink more water than usual. Forecasters also recommended that people:

• Avoid alcoholic, sugary or caffeinated drinks.
• Dress for the heat in lightweight and light-colored clothing.
• Eat small meals and eat more often.
• Monitor those with a higher vulnerability to heat, including small children.
• Check in on family, friends, and neighbors, especially the elderly.
• If engaging in outdoor activity, take longer and more frequent breaks and avoid the hottest parts of the day.
• Never leave kids or pets unattended in cars.