Three individuals, including a father and daughter, died while hiking in Utah over the weekend, as reported by the US National Park Service officials.
The victims, a 52-year-old man and his 23-year-old daughter, died on Friday in Canyonlands National Park after becoming lost and running out of water. The temperature at the time exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius), and both were pronounced dead when emergency medical personnel arrived.
On Saturday, a 30-year-old woman was found dead during a separate hike in Snow Canyon Park, with local police cautioning the public about the dangers of dehydration. These deaths are part of a severe heat wave that began two weeks ago in the western United States and has since moved east.
On Monday, the National Weather Service reported that 150 million people were under extreme heat warnings. Las Vegas, Nevada, recorded its highest-ever temperature on July 7, reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.9 degrees Celsius).
This heat wave follows the Earth’s hottest June ever recorded, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Recurring heat waves are linked to climate change driven by fossil fuel use, according to scientists.
