America's Southwest swelters under blistering heat wave with temperatures set to soar past 120F in Arizona, Nevada and parts of California: More than 110 million under heat advisories

• e-mail

A dangerous heat wave currently affecting the US Southwest is set to persist Sunday - bringing with it triple-digit temperatures that could break several records.

The forecast, for the most part, pertains to communities in Arizona, Nevada, and a sprawling slice of California, where more than 110million are under heat advisories.

It's a continuation of blistering temperatures seen last week, which came to a head Saturday - slamming  cities such as Phoenix with temps that topped a record 118 degrees, and others, such as Vegas and Fresno, with heat just a few degrees cooler.

According to statements from the National Weather Service, the weather - which meteorologists warn is drastic even for the region - is now set to worsen, with record-high temperatures now forecast for areas in all three states.

As a result, parts of the Desert Southwest will easily be in the 110s, and even the 120s, in some spots Sunday afternoon, putting roughly a third of the entire American population at risk.

Scroll down for video: 

A dangerous heat wave currently affecting the US Southwest is set to persist Sunday - bringing with it triple-digit temperatures that could break several records. A car is seen moving by a thermometer showing 119 degrees in Baker, California, Saturday

The forecast, for the most part, pertains to communities in Arizona, Nevada, and a sprawling slice of California. More than 110million citizens are under heat advisories 

'Near record temperatures are expected this weekend!' the National Weather Service in Phoenix warned in a tweet, as the city is now set to register the hottest week in its history.

'Don't be a statistic!' the weather service in nearby Tucson advised, in anticipation of temperatures that - even without factors such as humidity - will skirt 120 degrees.

The service warned of how extreme heat can be deadly - declaring 'It CAN happen to YOU!' - while its sister service 300 miles away in Sin City issued a similar statement, as Vegas is expected to break its hottest temperature ever recorded on Sunday, when it's forecast to reach 118 degrees.

'Near record temperatures are expected today,' NWS Las Vegas said Sunday morning, after temperatures hit 115 degrees the day before. 'An Excessive Heat Warning continues for much of the Mojave Desert & Southern Great Basin through Tuesday.'

The city's previous heat record, recorded in July 1994, is 117 degrees. 

As for Phoenix - which already smashed its own 118 degree record on Saturday, in somewhat of a surprise - temperatures around expected to again hit the same marker, and potentially exceed it.

Other Arizona hubs expected to be near or eclipse 110 degrees as the weather continues include Wickenburg and Gila Bend, which both should see temperatures of 114 degrees.

In Casa Grande, another city set in the bottom half of the state, meteorologists expect temperatures of 111 degrees, and 108 in nearby Sedona.

All these readings come within a few degrees of each cities' respective heat record, with Phoenix bearing the brunt of the stubborn heat wave. At least a dozen in the city have died so far this summer as a result.

David Hondula, director of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, said temperatures set to slam the city Sunday will be worse - predicting them to 'be some of the most serious and hot conditions we’ve ever seen.'

Elsewhere, slightly north and northeast, tens of millions in the Golden State are also set to battle similar temperatures - after a portion of the appropriately named Death Valley came close to recording the hottest temperature in history on Saturday.

The hottest temperature recorded in the Mojave Desert set locale was 134 F in July 1913 - a marker that meteorologists said very well can be broken Sunday after skirting around the 130 degree mark on Saturday.

Tourists began descending on the historical site this week in anticipation of what could be a once-in-a-lifetime event, as temperatures 'struggle to fall below 100' overnight this weekend through Tuesday, the weather service said.

Also forecast to potentially break records Sunday is Fresno and Reno - which are both also set to register temperatures within a few degrees of their all-time highs of 115 and 108 degrees, respectively. 

Fellow desert cities of Parker and Blythe, California -  are expected to reach temperatures of 119 degrees and 118 degrees, respectively - with a forecast of 115 degrees for nearby El Centro.   

Farther east, where millions of heat advisories are also in effect, the weather service warned of 'oppressively hot and steamy conditions' stretching from Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley as far as Florida. 

As a result, communities such as San Antonio, Houston, and El Paso are also poised to battle temperatures nearing - and potentially surpassing - 110 degrees on Sunday, after scorching more northern-set places like Austin last week.

The city, last month, recorded an unofficial all-time heat index record of 118 degrees.

That said, several records were smashed across the Lone State during last month's heat wave,  with new daily highs hit in San Antonio - 105 degrees - and McAllen, with 107 degrees.

A woman shields herself from the glaring heat in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, as temperatures cleared the triple digits

A toddler is pictured being carried under the blazing sun in Los Angeles, California, Saturday. Several of the Golden State are under heat advisories Sunday due to abnormally high heat

A man walks along a sidewalk under the misters Friday in downtown Phoenix. Phoenix hit 118 degrees on Saturday, breaking a more than 100-year-old record. It comes as even desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of the heat wave hitting the Southwest this week

A couple hikes at Papago Park at dusk, Friday, July 14, 2023 in Phoenix. The city marked the city's 15th consecutive day of 110 degrees Fahrenheit or higher temperatures on Friday

Hikers watch the sunset at Papago Park, Friday in Phoenix - which will likely be the hub hit hardest by this week's forecast heat

Volunteers walks outside the Justa Center, a day center for homeless people 55 years and older, Friday in downtown Phoenix

A homeless man cools off inside the Justa Center, Friday in downtown Phoenix. The city is is set to record its hottest week in its history, after hitting a record 118 degrees Saturday

The center, located a few blocks from the city's largest homeless shelter, has also been serving as an official hydration station where anyone can stop to get up to two ice-cold bottles of water for free 

Several dozen people stop by daily for cold water, a meal, a shower and an electrical outlet to charge a mobile phone

A homeless man cools off after showering at the Justa Center, a day cooling center for homeless people 55 years and older, Friday in downtown Phoenix. During the cooler months, the center stays open until 2 p.m. but has been staying open to at least 5:30 p.m. most days during the current heat spell

Sin City issued a similar statement, as Vegas is expected to break its hottest temperature ever recorded on Sunday, when it's forecast to reach 118 degrees 

Elsewhere, slightly north and northeast, tens of millions in the Golden State are also set to battle similar temperatures - after a portion of the appropriately named Death Valley came close to recording the hottest temperature in history on Saturday 

Moreover, Austin tied its prior daily record of 106 degrees last month, while Laredo broke an all-time record-high temperature of 115 degrees. Temperatures in both cities are set to hover around 109 degrees Sunday.

Scientists say that there are a multitude factors are driving the abnormally high temperatures, including climate change and the recent arrival of El Niño, a natural climate pattern marked by warmer temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, 

As this weather phenomenon  brings warmer air north, it exacerbates the effects of climate change, creating systems called heat domes that trap hot ocean air from the sun like a hot-air balloon.

The result is a phenomenon akin to a lid covering a pot a steam - responsible for similar heat waves seen throughout the South this past month.

Already the leading weather-related killer in the US, the heat is leading officials to warn the millions in the heatwave's area to take the next few days' climate 'seriously,' or risk becoming one of the some 700 Americans who die from extreme heat each year. 

Already heeding this warning are residents in Phoenix, were around 200 hydration stations distributing bottles of water and cooling centers where thousands can rest in air-conditioned spaces opened Saturday in public spaces like libraries, churches and businesses.

Homeless man Charles Sanders spent Friday afternoon with his Chihuahua mix Babygirl at the air-conditioned Justa Center, which offers daytime services to older homeless people in downtown Phoenix. 

It's also serving as a hydration station, distributing free bottles of water.

Because of funding and staffing limitations, the center can only stay open until 5:30 pm, so Sanders, a 59-year-old who uses a wheelchair, has spent the sweltering nights with his pet in a tattered tent behind the building.

'I've been here for four summers now and it´s the worst so far,' said Sanders, a former welder originally from Denver.

David Hondula, chief heat officer for the City of Phoenix, said Friday that because of the health risks some centers were extending hours that are sometimes abbreviated because of limited volunteers and money.

'This weekend there will be some of the most serious and hot conditions we´ve ever seen,' said Hondula.

He said just one location, the Brian Garcia Welcome Center for homeless people in downtown Phoenix, planned to be open 24 hours and direct people to shelters and other air-conditioned spaces for the night. During especially hot spells in the past, the Phoenix Convention Center has opened some space as a nighttime cooling center, but Hondula said he had not heard of that possibility this year.

Stacy Champion, an advocate for homeless people in Phoenix, took to Twitter this week to criticize the lack of nighttime cooling spaces for unsheltered individuals, saying they are 'out of luck' if they have no place to go.

In Las Vegas, casinos offered respite from the heat for many. Air-conditioned libraries, police station lobbies and other places from Texas to California planned to be open to the public to offer relief for at least part of the day.

Emergency room doctors in Las Vegas have been treating more people for heat illness as the heat wave threatened to break the city´s all-time record high of 117 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend.

Dr. Ashkan Morim, who works in the ER at Dignity Health Siena Hospital in suburban Henderson, Nevada, spoke Friday of treating tourists this week who spent too long drinking by pools and became severely dehydrated, and a stranded hiker who needed liters of fluids to regain his strength.

In New Mexico's largest city of Albuquerque, splash pads will be open for extended hours and many public pools were offering free admission. In Boise, Idaho, churches and other nonprofit groups were offering water, sunscreen and shelter.

In Southern California, temperatures soared into the triple digits in inland areas, and a ridge of high pressure was expected to keep its hold on the region for a couple of weeks.

In Lancaster and Palmdale, north of Los Angeles, temperatures hit 108 degrees Fahrenheit, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford. In Los Angeles´ San Fernando Valley, the thermometer cleared triple digits in some areas.

'We are going to be pretty warm for a while,' Wofford said, adding that temperatures would be above normal for about two weeks. 'There's been a lot of triple digits' across the region.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass announced the city was opening cooling centers where residents can escape the heat. 'The extreme heat that is forecasted this weekend can pose serious risks,' she warned.

The hot, dry conditions sparked a series of blazes in Southern California southeast of Los Angeles, where firefighters Saturday were battling three separate brush fires amid blistering heat and low humidity in sparsely populated, hilly areas. The fires were all within 40 miles (65 kilometers) of each other in Riverside County, where temperatures in some areas spiked into the triple digits.

'Heat is definitely a concern out there,' said April Newman of the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, adding that the blazes were burning through dense, dry brush in rugged terrain.

Phoenix on Saturday saw the city´s 16th consecutive day of 110 degrees Fahrenheit or higher temperatures, hitting that mark before noon and putting it on track to beat the longest measured stretch of such heat. The was record 18 days, in 1974.

By late afternoon, the temperature in Phoenix had hit 118 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the daily record set on July 15, 1998, of 117 F, the National Weather Service in Phoenix tweeted. The normal high for the date is 107 F.

Emphasizing how dangerous the heat can be, police in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise said Saturday its officers on Friday found two older women sweltering at home in 114 degrees Fahrenheit with just a tiny, overtaxed unit that failed to cool most of the house. 

After the women were taken to senior center to cool off, the department's community services team bought and installed an adequate air conditioner and several fans in the home.

Extreme heat is especially dangerous for older people; medications they may take or chronic conditions like heart or kidney disease can make it harder for their bodies to cool down.

Regional health officials in Las Vegas launched a new database Thursday to report 'heat-caused' and 'heat-related' deaths in the city and surrounding Clark County from April to October.

The Southern Nevada Health District said seven people have died since April 11, and a total of 152 deaths last year were determined to be heat-related.

Arizona´s Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, reported this week that so far this year there have been 12 confirmed heat-associated deaths going back to April, half of them people who were homeless. Another 55 deaths are under investigation.

There were 425 confirmed heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County last year, with more than half of them occurring in July and 80% of them happening outdoors.

Closer to the Pacific coast, temperatures were less severe, but still have made for sweaty days on picket lines in the Los Angeles area, where actors joined screenwriters in strikes against producers.

In Sacramento, the California State Fair kicked off with organizers canceling planned horseracing events due to concerns for animal safety. Pet owners around the Southwest were urged to keep their animals mostly inside.

This week, the Southern Nevada Health District said seven people have died since April 11, and a total of 152 deaths last year were determined to be heat-related. 

A digital thermometer stationed in Death Valley on July 15, 2023 revealed temperatures to top a staggering 129F - five degrees short of the hottest temperature ever recorded in history. That marker could be surpassed on Sunday, scientists said

A firefighter sprays water on flames along Gilman Springs Road during the Rabbit Fire late Friday in Moreno Valley, California

A firefighter watches flames from the Rabbit Fire along Gilman Springs Road late Friday in Moreno Valley, California

Flames consume brush along Gilman Springs Road during the Rabbit Fire late Friday in Moreno Valley, California

Firefighters monitor as flames consume brush along Gilman Springs Road during the Rabbit Fire late Friday in Moreno Valley, California

Tourists take pictures under an umbrella at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles Friday. Over a third of Americans are under extreme heat advisories, watches, and warnings as a blistering heatwave continues across the Southwest and California.

Visitors tour the Griffith Observatory gardens in Los Angeles Friday. The sweltering conditions were expected to keep building Friday and through the weekend. Forecasters say some California residents should prepare for the hottest weather of the year

A woman shields themselves from the sun with a rainbow umbrella during a heat wave in Tucson, Arizona, on July 15, 2023

A firefighter sprays water on flames along Gilman Springs Road during the Rabbit Fire late Friday, July 14, 2023

Heat waves are occurring more often and more intensely in major cities across the United States, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, with a frequency of six per year during the 2010s and 2020s compared to two per year during the 1960s.

'This heat wave is NOT typical desert heat,' the NWS's Las Vegas branch tweeted, specifying that 'its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures, & warm nights' were unusual.

In recent weeks, the heat dome has descended over the West Coast and Southwest, as the blistering temperatures saw a high of 113 million Americans placed under active heat warnings on Thursday. 

A sprawling area of high pressure currently positioned directly over the Four Corners is responsible for the scorching temperatures, which are unusual even for the notoriously hot expanse.

Forecasters said the long-duration heat wave is extremely dangerous, especially for older people, homeless residents and other vulnerable populations. The heat could persist into next week as a high pressure dome moves west from Texas.

A series of wildfires have sparked across California this week as the extreme heat has brought dry conditions and very little rainfall for much of the region. 

In Riverside County, evacuations were ordered for some residents as a wildfire dubbed the 'Rabbit Fire' devastated the area. 

Firefighters were seen battling the blazes while hundreds of locals were evacuated, as the fire spread to more than 7,000 acres within 24 hours. 

Wade Crowdfoot, secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, warned at a media briefing this week that California would likely continue to see the effects of extreme heat due to global climate change 'supercharging' heatwaves. 

California has instituted a $400 million extreme heat action plan to protect workers, help vulnerable communities and assist local communities in opening cooling centers.

The plan, announced last year as an update to state recommendations made a decade earlier, has a broad range of near- and long-term goals.

Elements include raising public awareness, statewide public health monitoring to identify heat illness events early on, and developing codes and regulations to protect everything from schools to water supplies.

A pedestrian cools off in water sprinklers along the sidewalk during a heat wave in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 14, 2023

An electrical substation is seen during a heat wave in Houston, Texas, July 14. Concerns over power outages are currently rife due to the ongoing heat wave

A man cools off in misters along the Las Vegas Strip, Thursday, July 13, 2023

Officials in cities across the West Coast have been scrambling to find solutions to the heat, with many offering free water stations and air conditioned spaces. 

In the tiny town of Galt, outside California's capital of Sacramento, the police department has opened its air conditioned lobby for anyone to cool off, which is set to remain open until 10pm all weekend.

'We want to make sure that anybody who does not have the ability to find appropriate shelter that they can have a place to go to keep themselves in a safe and cool environment,' said Lt. John Rocha.

Officials said California's power system, which was strained to the point of widespread blackouts in recent years, has been fortified and should be able to withstand the latest heat wave.

The California Independent System Operator, which runs the electricity grid, said battery storage capacity reached 5,600 megawatts July 1 - enough to power more than 3.8 million homes for up to four hours before recharging.

'The batteries being added to the grid are charged during the day, when solar power is abundant, and dispatched primarily in the evening hours when demand is still high and the sun is setting and solar capacity diminishing,' Cal ISO said in a statement.

The staggering heatwaves are extended beyond the West Coast, with Canada enduring the worst wildfire season in its history due to the heat.

Record temperatures combined with months of below-average rainfall saw the amount of land burned by devastating wildfires climb  to an-all time high of 24.7 million acres so far this year on Saturday.

'We find ourselves this year with figures that are worse than our most pessimistic scenarios,' Yan Boulanger, a researcher at Canada's natural resources ministry, told AFP.

Smoke from the wildfires was creating unhealthy air quality conditions in upper-central parts of the United States, similar to episodes in June when Canadian blazes cloaked the US East Coast in a noxious haze.