(CN) --- A heat wave has shattered temperature records all over the United States and is exacerbating the drought already plaguing much of the American West --- creating a landscape prime for wildland fires and degrading air quality for residents.
“The record temperatures we are seeing in many areas has rapidly changed our fuel conditions,” said Gina Palma, a fire meteorologist with the Great Basin Coordination Center. “Moisture in fuels like sagebrush and timber that you would typically see in late July and August are occurring now.”
The unusually dry conditions mean that fire can spread in the wildland even absent windy conditions, Palma said.
“There is some recent precipitation up north, which gives some improvement on the drought in those areas, but not enough to alleviate the dry conditions,” Palma said.
The drought punishing the American West is on a scale not seen in recorded history, with 88% of the region experiencing some form of drought and 55% in the two worst categories of drought.
“There is a small glimmer of hope,” said Scott Handel, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “There is a monsoon developing in the Southwest for the first time in two years.”
Also, central Washington and parts of Oregon received some precipitation over the past week. But these developments are insufficient to allay the persistent dryness and the looming possibility of yet another active fire season throughout the West.
“We had a low snowpack in the Great Basin and the Southwest,” Palma said.
A record-breaking heat wave that is unusual for this time in June has made the dryness worse, and the official start of summer is still four days away.
Death Valley National Park saw temperatures in the high 120s on Wednesday into Thursday. Salt Lake City saw a record high 107 on Wednesday, while Billings, Montana, set a record at 108.
Las Vegas saw a temperature of 116 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, one degree off the all-time record high for the city. And In San Luis Obispo, tucked into a typically temperate part of California’s Central Coast, the mercury hit 108 degrees.
In all, 40 million people in the United States have experienced triple-digit heat this week, with an additional 10 million languishing under excessive heat warnings. Climatologists point to climate change as a cause for the inordinate heat.
“Currently, climate change has caused rare heat waves to be 3 to 5 degrees warmer over most of the United States,” said Michael Wehner, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “The human influence on extreme heat waves is clear.”
The heat is also a public health issue, as heat waves are the number one cause of weather-related sickness and death in the United States. And the heat degrades air quality --- the San Francisco Bay Area saw a Spare the Air alert issued Wednesday, with officials asking drivers to limit their trips to help quell the accumulation of smog due to intense heat. In Phoenix, parts of the city saw some of the worst air quality since 1980.
The forecast doesn’t call for the heat to break in the near term. Las Vegas will see highs in the 110s through the weekend, potentially toppling all-time high records.
Death Valley will continue to experience temperatures in the 120s through Saturday, while Sacramento, California, Is expected to hit 110 on Thursday and 107 on Friday.
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