By: Jerry Zhang

On June 19th, a massive heat wave struck the United States shattering several temperature records in numerous cities including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Arlington, and more. Scientists attribute these heightened temperatures to climate change.

These decade or even century-old records have begun to be surpassed. In Baltimore, temperatures reached a high of 101 degrees, beating the 1988 record of 100 degrees. In Philadelphia, the temperature reached 98 degrees, dethroning the record set in 1888 of 97 degrees. The high of 99 degrees in Arlington has beaten the 98 degree record set in 1988.

“It’s particularly brutal out here the last few days,” commented Mr. Lawrence of the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, which partners with the city’s Health Department, as temperatures broke records in Philadelphia. He added, “The level of calls that would be considered emergency-based … in years past.”

The recent trend of rising temperatures has begun to pose a threat to the public. Heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke and exhaustion have increased along the East Coast and Midwest, with Philadelphia’s heatline receiving a higher volume of emergency calls than usual. At the heat wave’s peak, over 120 million Americans were under heat advisory alerts from the Weather Service.

However, luckily, this weather has begun to subside. The U.S. Weather Service has predicted that temperatures will decrease from early this week. Many parts of the country have already started to cool down. Areas such as the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic have experienced the height of the heat wave, signaling that temperatures will soon begin to drop.

“Prolonged periods of heat around here usually end with a bang and that is what will happen later today,” said the U.S. Weather Service office in Philadelphia.

With 2024 expected to be one of the five hottest years on record, it is time to seek a solution to the ever-increasing problem of climate change that humanity faces.