The heat wave hitting the US is so extreme that people are suffering severe burns just from falling on the pavement, which is reaching scorching temperatures.
Doctors in some parts of Arizona say that up to a third of patients in their burn units are victims who suffered their injuries this way.
And the phenomenon has life-threatening consequences. Up to half of patients in intensive care units are people who have fallen and burned themselves, said Dr. Kevin Foster, director of burn services at Valleywise Health in Phoenix.
Phoenix has seen 24 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures, and Arizona is one of more than a dozen states with a heat advisory or extreme heat warning from the National Weather Service.
A Phoenix resident rests in the shadows as he seeks shelter from the sun and heat during a record heat wave in the city
A billboard shows a temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit during a record heat wave in Phoenix, Arizona
According to the American Meteorological Society, asphalt can be more than 50 degrees hotter than the air temperature, while concrete is significantly higher
The agency considers the weather to be a “major risk,” issuing a three-out-of-four warning and forecasting temperatures as high as 114 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to experts, in air temperatures of 85 degrees Fahrenheit, concrete surfaces reach a temperature of 105 degrees and asphalt about 130 degrees.
When the air temperature is 97 degrees, concrete gets as hot as 145 degrees, and asphalt is as hot as 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
At 125 degrees, skin burning can occur within two minutes. According to the National Institutes of Health, at 130 degrees, a third-degree skin burn can occur in just 30 seconds.
A third-degree burn extends through and destroys all layers of skin and injures the underlying tissue, often requiring multiple surgeries and months of recovery.
To feed told CNN that a third of the patients in the burn center are people who fell to the ground and burned themselves so badly that they required hospital care.
“Summers are our busy season, so we expect things like this to happen,” Foster told CNN.
“But this is really unusual – the number of patients we see and the severity of injuries – the acuity of injuries is much higher.” The numbers are higher and the severity of the injuries are higher, and we don’t have a good explanation for it.’
And Arizona isn’t the only US state suffering from oppressive temperatures.
Utah cities have tied or broken maximum temperatures, and nine states have issued heat advisories. Four states have issued extreme heat warnings, predicting more record-breaking temperatures that could prove deadly.
Water drips off a person as they cover their heads for protection from the sun in Phoenix during the record heat wave
Heat warnings are in effect in parts of Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Utah, Nebraska, Colorado and Montana. Excessive heat warnings are in effect in parts of Utah, Arizona, Florida and California.
The NWS is urging people to take precautions when outdoors and reschedule strenuous activities to avoid prolonged exposure to the dangerously high temperatures.
In Las Vegas, the agency reported temperatures so high on Saturday that it could bake cookies in a car that reached 210 degrees Fahrenheit and on asphalt, which reached 156 degrees Fahrenheit.
In Texas, the heat index, or “real feel” temperature, is predicted to reach 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Florida could see indices as high as 112 degrees. Kansas gets as hot as 108 degrees Fahrenheit.
In addition to burns, doctors are seeing an increase in the number of patients coming to hospitals with heat-related illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of the dangers of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which can be deadly. The agency estimates that about 600 people in the U.S. die each year from heat-related illnesses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of the dangers of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which can be deadly.
The National Weather Service issued a warning about how hot cars can get in extreme temperatures
Maricopa County, the county where Phoenix is ??located, has reported 18 heat-related deaths since July 19, most of them between July 2 and July 19. In addition, the number of hospital visits related to heat has skyrocketed recently.
And people don’t just have to worry about themselves. This extreme heat is also dangerous for pets.
The scorching temperatures of concrete and asphalt can seriously damage pets’ paws from walking on the hot surfaces.
In addition, pets are at increased risk of heat stroke, which can cause organ damage with just a 3-degree rise in their body temperature, and can kill them in 15 minutes if left untreated.