Over 170 million Americans are under heat alerts this week, according to the National Weather Service, as a heat wave that has affected the southern US for weeks has expanded into parts of the Great Plains, midwest and north-east US.
Between 250 and 275 million people in the US will face heat indexes of at least 90F (32C), as the US braces for the hottest weather of the summer averaged across the country.
The largest electric grid operator in the US, PJM Connection, which oversees electric power supply of 13 states and Washington DC, covering 65 million Americans, issued a level one emergency alert for Thursday in anticipation of increases in demands for electricity during the most recent heatwave.
Biden will announce new heat-related measures as the United States sizzles.
Good morning, viewers of US politics blogs! In the midst of a summer in which much of the United States has struggled with extreme heat, Joe Biden will declare today at 11:45 a.m. Eastern modest new measures to combat the scorching temperatures. There will also be new funding to enhance weather forecasting and water storage capacity in three western states prone to drought.
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The measures will be announced at a White House ceremony in Washington, DC, which is experiencing its own heatwave, a year after Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s first law specifically designed to reduce carbon emissions. It also occurs in the midst of a summer in which many regions of the United States have endured not only unprecedented heat but also devastating flooding as a result of the climate crisis.
Here are additional events occurring today:
A House foreign affairs subcommittee will conduct an investigation into America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Expect the Republican majority to blame Biden for the deaths and withdrawals that marked the conclusion of the United States’ longest conflict.
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At 3 p.m., Biden will welcome Giorgia Meloni to the White House. She is the Italian prime minister, and her affiliations to the far right have caused many on the left in Washington and elsewhere to raise their eyebrows.
At 1.30 p.m., White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will receive questions from reporters.
