20 July 2023 , 17:53
893
0
A woman living in what's been deemed the world's first city to be "uninhabitable without air con" has been living without it for almost 80 DAYS.
It comes as scientists warned thousands of residents could die if the power goes out - and many would need emergency care..
73-year-old Hope McNally has been living through the sweltering Arizona summer heat, with her thermostat reading 37.2C inside her home.
The woman, from Phoenix, is on a fixed income and says she can't afford a new air conditioning system, which would set her back $8,000.
Hope McNally has been living through one of the hottest summers on record in Arizona without working air conditioning (azfamily)"It's miserable in here," says Hope McNally. "I can't stand too much more of it. I'm afraid I'm going to have a heat stroke of something."
Beast from the East is coming back as Britain set to be blasted by snow
She said it was hard to keep hope as she lived in the scorching conditions. Her husband, who would have fixed the system by now, died three years ago.
Meteorologist Laura Tobin said Phoenix, Arizona, is "one of the first cities in the world to become uninhabitable unless they have air conditioning". Pavements reached a blistering 71C in the city, which has seen record-breaking temperatures during the severe heatwave.
Almost one in three Americans are under some form of heat warning due to the deadly El Nino phenomenon. With the excruciating temperatures in Phoenix, air conditioning will have to be on almost continuously - putting a huge strain on the city's power grid.
Scientists looking into the impact found a multi-day power outage could lead to more than 50 per cent of the city's residents needing emergency care, and could cause as many as 13,250 deaths.
But help was at hand. Local news outlet AZ Family contacted their partner, Parker and Sons, who agreed to give Hope a new air-con system for free.
"You're not going to worry about any costs whatsoever, and we're going to get this thing swapped out for you," said Michael Whetsel with the company. They were due to have the installation complete on Thursday, July 20, as temperatures were set to hit 46.6C in Phoenix.
"I feel wonderful. I want to cry," said Hope when she heard the news.
This summer, residents of Phoenix have braced a record-breaking heatwave. On Tuesday, July 18, the city hit a record of 19 days in a row of temperatures of 110F (43.3C) or higher.
Hope McNally with her husband, who would have fixed the air-con, but passed away three years ago (azfamily)National Weather Service officials said temperatures in Phoenix reached 118F (47.7C) on Tuesday, July 18, breaking the existing record of 115F (46.1C) that was set in 1989, and tying the record for the hottest day of the year so far.
But it's not just the scorching temperatures during the day. The city has also had nine straight days of temperatures which didn't drop below 32.2C at night - breaking another record. The lack of cooling down overnight means those without air conditioning get no respite from the heat.
Beast from the East 2 fears as UK hit with snow and temperature falls to -10C
Monday, July 17, saw the city set a record for the hottest overnight low temperature, with temperatures only dropping to 35C. National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Salerno called it "pretty miserable when you don't have any recovery overnight."
A local company have given Hope a new AC unit, free of charge (azfamily)Around 200 cooling and hydration centres have been set up in the city to help residents, however most shut down any time between 4pm and 7pm due to staffing and funding issues. It comes as six more heat-related deaths were confirmed in Maricopa County, Arizona, on Wednesday, July 19.
In total, 18 people in Maricopa County, which includes the cities of Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, have died this summer due to heat complications. Another 69 deaths are under investigation according to health officials.
The heatwave isn't expected to let up any time soon, either. The latest forecast shows above-average temperatures for the rest of July, especially in the south and west of the US.