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Wednesday, June 21st, 2017

It’s so hot in Phoenix, planes can’t take off

Author:     BRIAN KAHN
Source:     Salon/Climate Central
Publication Date:     TUESDAY, JUN 20, 2017 10:06 AM PDT
 Link: It’s so hot in Phoenix, planes can’t take off
Stephan:   Here is a consequence of climate change you may not have expected. I read this as an alert that the migration is about to begin out of the Southwest for lack of water and because of  high temperatures for long stretches of the year. Living in Egypt and working in the desert doing an archaeological dig taught me that even the Bedouin  quit working when it gets above 114°F. Already the streets of Phoenix are devoid of pedestrians in the summer because of the heat.  

Credit: AP/Wilfredo Lee

An intense heat wave is crippling the West this week, sending the mercury above 120 degrees in places like Phoenix. In a sign of just how hot things are getting, some airlines have had to cancel flights because of the heat.

American Airlines said it cancelled 50 flights out of Phoenix Sky Harbor aboard Bombardier CRJ aircraft on Tuesday because the planes can’t operate above 118 degrees.

 Heat waves are intimately tied to climate change as rising background temperatures make them more intense and common. The latest batch of heat will cook an area from northern California to western Texas, a region home to some seven of the 10 fastest-warming cities in the country.

Temperature records have already fallen across California and heat will build throughout the week. Sacramento, San Jose, Palm Springs, Fresno and Death Valley all set daily highs on Monday. But the hottest temperatures aren’t even expected to arrive until Tuesday. They’ll last through Thursday, and forecast highs mean the region could set all-time records.