Killer heatwave grips US as millions suffer in sweltering temperatures

A relentless heat wave continues to bake most of the United States, with numerous areas expected to see record-breaking temperatures and forecasters warning there would likely be little relief through the weekend for most areas.

The steamiest conditions on Friday were expected in parts of Ohio and Indiana, where heat indexes were likely to soar past 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) and remain there most of the day.

However the Midwest was not the only area being baked, as heat and excessive heat warnings and advisories has been issued across the northeast, the mid-Atlantic and in some western states.

Idaho officials said two people in their 60s have died of heat-related causes — the state's first heat-related deaths of the year. Health officials did not release additional information about the victims, including where they died.

Millions of residents across the country have had their lives disrupted by days of unusually high temperatures.

In Michigan, utility crews from several states were working feverishly on Friday to restore power to thousands of suburban Detroit customers, two days after severe storms knocked out their power, leaving residents suffering amid a heat wave expected to linger through Saturday.

Sizzling daytime temperatures

About 12,000 homes and businesses remained without power on Friday afternoon in Oakland County, a suburban area north of Detroit.

Between 500 and 600 crew members from utilities in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were working with about 1,000 DTE Energy utility workers and another 1,000 tree-trimming contractors to get the power back on amid the heat.

Utility aims to get the power back on for all its customers by late Friday or early Saturday.

Utility crews were working 16-hour shifts to get the power back on and they were urged to deal with the heat by taking more breaks because they are wearing jeans, long-sleeved shirts, rubber gloves and hardhats for their work.

It was too hot for some people for kayaking, at least during peak temperatures. Chad Brennan, who operates Sunrise Kayaking just outside Columbus, Ohio, limited groups to morning and evening trips even though it meant turning away customers.

"If you’re doing anything physical like paddling a kayak, just even anything remotely strenuous on days like this, it’s pretty exhausting,” he said.

This month's sizzling daytime temperatures were 35 times more likely and 2.5 degrees F hotter (1.4 degrees C) because of the warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas — in other words, human-caused climate change.

That is according to World Weather Attribution, a collection of scientists that run rapid climate attribution studies that have not been peer reviewed.

Sporting events postponed

The US last year experienced the most heatwaves since 1936, experts said. An Associated Press analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data found that the excessive heat contributed to more than 2,300 US deaths, the highest number in 45 years of records.

With little relief expected in the coming days, several sporting events were being postponed or rescheduled due to the extreme heat.

Among them was the "Blazing Paddles Paddlefest" on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, which was planned for Saturday. Organisers called off the event because of temperatures that are expected to reach the mid-90s.

Much of Ohio has been under heat warnings all week although a bit of relief was expected on Sunday as temperatures drop back to normal in the Great Lakes region.

In the Mexican desert near the US border, security forces are on alert after a man was found dead from heat stroke on the journey to what he hoped would be a better life in North America.

The US Border Patrol says that it has recorded the deaths of 77 people in the El Paso sector close to Ciudad Juarez, which extends to other parts of Texas and New Mexico.

Mauricio Rodriguez, the director of emergency management services in Ciudad Juarez, told AFP that people were being urged not to travel to the border "because of the high temperatures."

"I understand that people are forced to do so, but we recommend they don't do it. The heat can lead to death," he said.