Record-breaking temperatures in US and Europe heats up again | BBC News — Transcript

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1. 0:00Over the next 10 minutes, we're going to
2. 0:01focus on the big story of the day, the
3. 0:04US heat wave threatening the Fourth of
4. 0:06July weekend as Europe also heats up
5. 0:09again. New York City will enter a heat
6. 0:11emergency that will last through the 4th
7. 0:14of July weekend. Temperatures will climb
8. 0:17into the high 90s and triple digits.
9. 0:20>> Ridiculous. When I got in the car, it
10. 0:22felt like I almost burned myself. Like
11. 0:24it it was bad.
12. 0:25>> It's really really humid, so it's
13. 0:27killing us. On July 4th, it's going to
14. 0:31be approximately 107° out and I'm going
15. 0:35to go and I'm going to make a really
16. 0:36long speech.
17. 0:37>> It's super hot. We are hot. Um, even
18. 0:40being from Arkansas, we thought we could
19. 0:41handle the heat, but it's it's been very
20. 0:43warm.
21. 0:44>> It is just really, really oppressively
22. 0:46hot out here.
23. 0:46>> We're just sweaty and fine with it.
24. 0:48>> Yeah.
25. 0:50Well, millions of people across the US
26. 0:51are enduring dangerous heat and humidity
27. 0:54with temperatures expected to reach 100°
28. 0:57Fahrenheit across this Fourth of July
29. 1:00weekend. It's not just any Fourth of
30. 1:02July. This is America's 250th
31. 1:05anniversary. And there are tons of
32. 1:07events and celebrations planned across
33. 1:08the US and also in the capital where it
34. 1:11is scorching. But President Trump says
35. 1:13that won't hold him back. This week we
36. 1:17look back on 250 years of glorious
37. 1:20freedom and we took
38. 1:22so much time and so much effort. And by
39. 1:24the way on July 4th it's going to be
40. 1:28approximately 107 degrees out and I'm
41. 1:32going to go and I'm going to make a
42. 1:33really long speech
43. 1:35just to show that I can do anything.
44. 1:39It's going to be 107.
45. 1:41Well, of course, America's birthday
46. 1:43isn't the only major event that could be
47. 1:45impacted by all of this heat. World Cup
48. 1:48matches, and a highly anticipated
49. 1:50celebrity wedding in New York could also
50. 1:52be affected, as the city's mayor hinted
51. 1:54at.
52. 1:55>> My recommendation to all New Yorkers is
53. 1:59to stay inside and stay cool. And if you
54. 2:01happen to be getting married at Madison
55. 2:03Square Garden, you will be staying
56. 2:05inside and you will be staying cool. And
57. 2:07I think it's a good example to set for
58. 2:09the city at large.
59. 2:11>> And it's not just the US. Europe is
60. 2:13heating up again with wildfires in
61. 2:15France and temperatures set to soar over
62. 2:18the weekend in Spain and Portugal. So
63. 2:21what sort of temperatures are we
64. 2:23actually looking at in the US? Helen
65. 2:25from BBC weather has more.
66. 2:28>> Extreme heat warnings are still in force
67. 2:30for much of the eastern half of North
68. 2:33America. We've been tracking this heat
69. 2:34wave all week. It's a dangerous heat
70. 2:36because we're seeing temperatures that
71. 2:38we haven't seen for some 10 to 14 years.
72. 2:40For example, 100° in New York on
73. 2:43Thursday, but high humidity as well
74. 2:46making it even more dangerous when
75. 2:47temperatures overnight don't drop much
76. 2:49below 80 Fahrenheit. So that's 39 by
77. 2:51day, about 27 by night. But the heat is
78. 2:54going to trigger severe thunderstorms as
79. 2:56well for the northern plains, the
80. 2:57Midwest towards the Great Lakes through
81. 2:59the course of Friday, Friday evening,
82. 3:01possibly causing impacts to the football
83. 3:04as well. But the heat is likely to
84. 3:06persist into July the 4th for the
85. 3:09celebration. So that dangerous heat ever
86. 3:11present just becoming more limited in
87. 3:13eastern areas by Sunday.
88. 3:15>> So that's what we're expecting. What do
89. 3:17those sorts of temperatures actually
90. 3:19feel like? Floyd Kush is in New York for
91. 3:22us. And Floyd, what does temperatures
92. 3:25that Helen was just speaking about? What
93. 3:27does that feel like where you are?
94. 3:31>> Hi there, Matthew. Yeah, so it is hot.
95. 3:34Uh it's about 36° C here in New York,
96. 3:37which is about 97 fah. And it's sticky.
97. 3:42Uh it is difficult to be outdoors.
98. 3:44Certainly in the shade, it's a little
99. 3:46bit better. But as soon as you step into
100. 3:48that direct sun, the heat is on. It is
101. 3:51oppressive and difficult to be out here.
102. 3:54Not only here in New York, but right
103. 3:56across the eastern US in Washington DC.
104. 3:58It's been much the same over the last
105. 4:00day or so. just difficult, oppressive
106. 4:03heat to be in.
107. 4:04>> It really is stifling. Uh a quick
108. 4:06followup though, we often hear it's
109. 4:08100°, but for people who aren't in the
110. 4:10US, they are asking what is that in
111. 4:13Celsius?
112. 4:17>> Yes. So 100° is about 38° C. So, uh that
113. 4:22gives you a pretty good idea of how hot
114. 4:24it is. Uh and we're due to hit that here
115. 4:27in New York in the next couple of hours.
116. 4:28And I can tell you it's not nice to be
117. 4:30in. I'm
118. 4:32>> sure that's true. Back to you in a
119. 4:33moment. But Europe has seen
120. 4:34record-breaking temperatures across the
121. 4:36continent in June. And this weekend it's
122. 4:39heating up yet again. France says it's
123. 4:42recorded well over 2,000 excess deaths
124. 4:45as a result of last month's blistering
125. 4:47heat wave. And there have been intense
126. 4:49wildfires now across the Mediterranean
127. 4:52coast with thousands of people already
128. 4:54evacuated. So what is expected over the
129. 4:56weekend? Our correspondents in Madrid
130. 4:59and Lisbon have been explaining. Here in
131. 5:01Spain, areas down in the south and
132. 5:04southwest of the country are expected to
133. 5:06see the worst of the heat over the next
134. 5:08few days. Uh for example, the provinces
135. 5:11of Ba Hoth and Sevya are expected to see
136. 5:14temperatures reaching up into the low
137. 5:1640s Celsius. And those two areas are
138. 5:19among those which are on orange alert
139. 5:21because of the heat. And the National
140. 5:24Weather Agency has warned that because
141. 5:25of the high temperatures over the coming
142. 5:27days, there will be a particularly high
143. 5:30risk of wildfires. In Portugal, we're
144. 5:33braced for at least another week of
145. 5:35temperatures exceeding 40° in large
146. 5:37parts of the country. Fire risk is high
147. 5:40and expected to worsen by Monday. Some
148. 5:443/4ers of mainland Portugal will be at
149. 5:46maximum fire risk. According to
150. 5:49forecasts, the government has declared a
151. 5:514-day state of alert that puts uh police
152. 5:55and other emergency services on a higher
153. 5:57state of operational readiness. And it
154. 6:00also brings in an automatic ban on
155. 6:02certain activities such as the use of
156. 6:04machinery in forested areas, bonfires,
157. 6:08and the use of fireworks.
158. 6:09>> Well, that's Europe. Let's head back to
159. 6:11the US and the major events taking place
160. 6:13during all of this heat this weekend,
161. 6:14including those birthday celebrations
162. 6:16for none other than the USA itself as it
163. 6:19marks 250 years since the Declaration of
164. 6:22Independence. Floyd, are any of those
165. 6:24celebrations going to be rained in
166. 6:27because of the temperatures we're
167. 6:29seeing?
168. 6:32Yeah. So, as you said, Matthew, a huge
169. 6:34number of celebrations right across the
170. 6:36US uh for the 250 celebration. Uh we are
171. 6:40seeing a reducing in the hours in some
172. 6:43of those celebrations in places like
173. 6:45Philadelphia, but at uh in Washington
174. 6:48DC, those celebrations are going ahead.
175. 6:51Uh on Thursday, we saw a rehearsal for a
176. 6:54concert. The public banned from
177. 6:56attending that due to concerns about the
178. 6:58heat. But that concert which is due to
179. 6:59go ahead tonight is going ahead and the
180. 7:02Great American State Fair has been on uh
181. 7:05the last couple of days and on today.
182. 7:08The oppressive heat there has been
183. 7:09deterring some people. Others have been
184. 7:12battling it out and as we heard from
185. 7:14President Trump, he is going to make a
186. 7:16record long speech. So certainly things
187. 7:19are still continuing. Authorities though
188. 7:22deploying things like water stations,
189. 7:24sending staff out, paramedics and nurses
190. 7:26to ensure that people are coping with
191. 7:28the heat and doing checks on people.
192. 7:31Yes. And all eyes also in the US on the
193. 7:34World Cup and how the weather is
194. 7:36affecting that tournament. Is North
195. 7:38America in the height of summer the
196. 7:40right location? And are those hydration
197. 7:42breaks really necessary? Well, Neta
198. 7:44Torphic has more.
199. 7:46>> It's not just the competition heating up
200. 7:47at the World Cup, it's the weather, too.
201. 7:49The US this week will be under a heat
202. 7:52dome that will see temperatures rise to
203. 7:54more than 38° C or 101° F. While things
204. 7:59will cool down before the next match
205. 8:01here at the New York New Jersey stadium
206. 8:03on Sunday between Brazil and Norway,
207. 8:05it's raised the question again. Should
208. 8:08the final in the middle of summer be
209. 8:10held here?
210. 8:11>> Oh my god, the heat is killing us.
211. 8:12>> It's brutal.
212. 8:13>> Love the sun. Just got to avoid the burn
213. 8:16on the top of the head. What happens if
214. 8:17the global heat index exceeds the
215. 8:19threshold that the global players union
216. 8:21considers unsafe?
217. 8:23>> I've been talking a big game about why
218. 8:24they've been doing these hydration
219. 8:25breaks and how it's kind of pointless,
220. 8:27but I think today it makes sense.
221. 8:29>> The final's going to be here and there's
222. 8:30no air condition in the stadium. Do you
223. 8:32think that was the smartest choice?
224. 8:33>> No. And they should all be at night.
225. 8:36Even better
226. 8:37>> to see them sweat it out.
227. 8:38>> Yes. That's part of the culture, right?
228. 8:41>> So, what do you think? Did FIFA drop the
229. 8:43ball on planning?
230. 8:44Well, last but not least on the list of
231. 8:46major events in the US over the weekend,
232. 8:49Taylor Swift's wedding. All eyes on
233. 8:51Madison Square Gardens in New York where
234. 8:54her and Travis Kelce are expected to tie
235. 8:56the knots. Let's go back to Floyd
236. 8:58because that's where he is. It is
237. 9:00sweltering there. I should make the
238. 9:01questions harder. But will it put the
239. 9:03Swifties off trying to catch a glimpse?
240. 9:08>> Listen, Matthew, I don't think it will.
241. 9:10The Swifties, they want to turn out.
242. 9:12They want to see this. They are excited.
243. 9:15And we have seen some swifties come to
244. 9:17enjoy the spectacle here at Madison
245. 9:19Square Garden as we enter these last
246. 9:22couple of hours before the big event is
247. 9:23set to kick off. But the heat genuinely
248. 9:26is concerning here. And as you heard
249. 9:28earlier, Zoran Mandani, the mayor of New
250. 9:30York, taking serious measures to combat
251. 9:33this dangerous heat. Uh including
252. 9:35deploying vans with paramedics and
253. 9:37nurses uh to give out sunscreen and
254. 9:40water. People around here are sweating.
255. 9:43They're hot, especially in the sun. So,
256. 9:45it is of genuine concern, but I do think
257. 9:48that that is not going to stop those
258. 9:50fans from coming uh for Taylor and
259. 9:52Travis themselves and their many guests.
260. 9:54They will be chauffeered here in their
261. 9:56aironditioned SUVs and the stadium
262. 9:58itself has air conditioning as well. So,
263. 10:01no concern for them there.
264. 10:03>> Floyd, thanks very much for taking us
265. 10:05through that. So sweltering heat in the
266. 10:07US and in Europe, but why? Our
267. 10:10environment correspondent Matt McGra
268. 10:12explains.
269. 10:13>> So the heat waves that are stifling the
270. 10:15US and Europe right now are the product
271. 10:17of what experts call heat domes. These
272. 10:20are areas of high pressure that trap hot
273. 10:22air in place for days at a time, driving
274. 10:25up temperatures and posing a real threat
275. 10:27to people and to infrastructure. Now,
276. 10:31we've seen a lot of that recently in the
277. 10:32UK and in Europe. In both May and June,
278. 10:35we've seen record temperatures and
279. 10:36record heat waves. El Nino is only just
280. 10:39beginning and it's not the main cause of
281. 10:42these events. It's having some small
282. 10:44influence. The real story here is
283. 10:47decades and decades of greenhouse gas
284. 10:49emissions. They've driven up the world's
285. 10:51temperature so that when heat waves hit,
286. 10:53they're starting from a much higher
287. 10:55point and they feel much worse as a
288. 10:57result.
289. 10:59And that's all you need to know about
290. 11:00the US and European heat waves.