A record-setting heatwave is making life miserable in much of western United States, with California stretching into its second week of excessive heat that taxed the state’s power supply and threatened shortages.
The California Independent System Operator, the entity that oversees the state’s electrical grid, said there could be “rotating power outages” when demand for power could reach an all-time high.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom urged residents to conserve, warning in a video message on Tuesday that “the risk for outages is real and it’s immediate”.
“This heat wave is on track to be both the hottest and the longest on record for the state and many parts of the West for the month of September,” Newsom said.
“Everyone has to do their part to help step up for just a few more days.”
California’s state capital Sacramento tied a record on Tuesday with its 41st day of temperatures reaching at least 38C. And there was a chance the city would break its record of 46C set in 1925, according to the National Weather Service.
In San Francisco, temperatures hit 34C just before midday on Tuesday in a region known for its mild summer weather where most people don’t have air conditioning.
In Los Angeles, temperatures were in the high 30s on Tuesday, prompting the nation’s second-largest school district to limit the use of asphalt and concrete playgrounds.
In neighbouring Nevada, Reno set a record of 39C on Monday while in Utah’s Salt Lake City hit 40.5 C on Tuesday, the hottest September day recorded going back to 1874.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the past three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
In the past five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in state history.
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