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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Nicholas Lee (MetDesk)

Weather tracker: Extreme heat grips Death Valley in California

A sign warning of extreme heat in Death Valley, California, on 15 July 2023
Even by Death Valley standards, this has been a remarkably hot summer. Photograph: Reuters

The US, like Europe, has been experiencing extreme heat over the past week and temperatures are expected to remain well above normal in places over the coming days.

Death Valley in California, the location of the disputed global record for maximum temperature, exceeded 50C (122F) on several days, which resulted in the death of at least one hiker.

Phoenix in Arizona broke its own record of consecutive days above 43.3C, with 19 days breaching this threshold. It will remain searingly hot over the coming days in the south-western states, with temperatures continuing to reach 46-47C in Phoenix, about 5C above the seasonal average.

Across the Atlantic, the heatwave in southern Europe will gradually relinquish its grip. A cold front sinking through southern and eastern Europe will bring a sharp contrast in temperatures this week.

Parts of Greece and Italy have endured temperatures well above 40C over the past week and there will be little respite for the next couple of days. The temperature is forecast to remain between 40C and 45C until Wednesday before easing towards the end of the week.

Further north, a drop of 10-15C is likely between Tuesday and Thursday. The temperature in Austria and the Czech Republic could plummet from the mid-30s celsius to the mid-teens in just two days.

In the western Pacific, Typhoon Doksuri has been upgraded from a tropical storm. Doksuri, which was just east of the Philippines at the time of writing, is expected to track towards the north-west this week and intensify further, bringing significant rainfall to the northern Philippines.

The storm is predicted to continue north-west, although the exact route is uncertain. Latest models show a wide range of possible landfall locations, potentially as far west as Hong Kong, but the most likely track looks to be through or close to Taiwan on Thursday and on towards China. This could trigger violent winds and heavy rainfall.

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