An extreme heat belt may be forming across the country as a result of the hot weather this summer.
Matthew Eby is the CEO of the climate-risk research nonprofit First Street Foundation.
The foundation used a peer reviewed model to assess six years of US government satellite data and predict future risk of extreme heat by property. Scientists warn that extreme heat will become more common, more extreme, and longer- lasting in the future.
According to the report, 8 million Americans will face the possibility of being in at least 125 degrees for a day next year. 13 times as many people would be added in 30 years according to the report.
The map below shows how much of the US land area is covered by that one third of the current population.
Most of the heat will be in the center of the country, from the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast up through Chicago. The report states that parts of the southwest and southeast are likely to have more than one day above 125 degrees.
The risk of heat stroke is high at high temperatures. Infrastructure fails at high temperatures as well. Train tracks can bend and cause derailing and airports can melt. The power can go out sometimes.
There are days that can reach 125 degrees. The temperature can be dangerous. The report shows more days above 100 degrees in the south.
The extreme heat of the summer so far in 2020 is in line with many locations where the First Street Foundation expects the most heat in years to come.
The map below shows that the report projects more heat waves across the country, with increased risk in northern areas including the Pacific Northwest.
The projections in this report are conservative because it assumed a future scenario where humans drastically cut greenhouse-gas emissions that are driving climate change and increasing global temperatures.
If the world doesn't cut emissions soon, the future of extreme heat may look worse than the maps show.
In 30 years, our underrepresentation of these heat impacts will be noticed.
Warming is locked in by the gases we've added to the atmosphere. Eby said that people and companies need to prepare for more extreme heat in the future.
The hope is that this data can inform everyone from the individual, to commercial users to state, local and federal governments, which are all users of our data.
You can check past data and current and future risks for individual properties on riskfactor.com.
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