Western U.S. heat dome brings record temperatures, intensifies wildfire threat

On the first day of August, a heat dome settled over the western United States, pressing temperatures toward historic thresholds from Arizona to Montana and denying millions of people the nighttime relief the body depends on to survive. Cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and El Centro edged toward all-time records while wildfires consumed hundreds of square kilometers across Washington, Oregon, and beyond. This is not merely a weather event — it is a moment in a longer reckoning, shaped by decades of fossil fuel combustion and amplified by one of the most intense El Niño cycles on record, remindi