US temperatures could set new records

TEXAS, July 16 (BBC/AFP): Parts of the US are expected to see record temperatures on Sunday, with warnings of "dangerous" heat levels into next week across the south-west.
Nearly a third of Americans - about 113 million people - are currently under heat advisories, from Florida to California and up to Washington state. The country's National Weather Service (NWS) has urged people not to underestimate the risk to life.
On Saturday, a sweltering 118F (48C) was recorded in Phoenix, Arizona. It means temperatures have hit 110F (43C) for 16 days running, which is almost a record. Mobile clinics there have reported treating homeless people suffering from third-degree burns.
Meanwhile, Death Valley in California - one of the hottest places in the world - is forecast to reach 129F (54C), nearing the hottest temperatures ever reliably recorded on Earth.
The NWS has said that local records could also be set on Sunday in the San Joaquin Valley, Mojave Desert, and Great Basin regions.
Its Saturday-evening update said the temperatures would "pose a health risk and are potentially deadly to anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration".
About 700 people are estimated to die each year from heat-related causes in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In neighbouring Canada, officials say wildfires stoked by above-average temperatures - which have covered parts of the US in smoke - have now burned nearly 10 million hectares (25 million acres) of land.
The temperatures in America's south-west are the result of an upper level ridge of high pressure, which typically brings with it warmer temperatures, the NWS said earlier, adding that the heatwave was "one of the strongest" systems of its kind to hit the region.
Meanwhile, Japan issued heatstroke alerts Sunday to tens of millions of people as near-record high temperatures scorched swathes of the country, while torrential rain pummelled other regions.
National broadcaster NHK warned viewers that the heat was at life-threatening levels, as temperatures soared to nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some places, including the capital Tokyo.
"Please stay hydrated and use air conditioners appropriately, and refrain from outings that seem difficult," a news presenter said.
The government issued heatstroke alerts for 20 of the country's 47 prefectures, mainly in the east and southwest, affecting tens of millions of people.
Heat can kill by inducing heatstroke, which damages the brain, kidneys and other organs, but it can also trigger other conditions such as a heart attack or breathing problems.
Kiryu city in Gunma prefecture, north of Tokyo, saw the mercury reach 39.7C while Hachioji in western Tokyo reached 38.9C, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Japan's highest temperature ever recorded was 41.1C, which was first recorded in Kumagaya city, in Saitama, in 2018 and then matched in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka, in 2020.