It’s so hot in the western U.S. that some people are ‘wobbling’ and collapsing to the ground as they walk outside
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About 1.2 million people were under extreme heat risk, meaning temperatures were expected to stay dangerously high with no relief overnight.
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August 24, 2025
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Environment·climate changeIt’s so hot in the western U.S. that some people are ‘wobbling’ and collapsing to the ground as they walk outsideBy Cedar AttanasioBy The Associated PressBy Cedar AttanasioBy The Associated Press Kevin Lillenberg, 69, adjusts his hat while exercising at the Central Park Stairs in Santa Clarita on Wednesday morning, Aug. 20, 2025 as preparation for his Mt
Whitney hike in a couple of months
Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesResidents of the Western U.S. sweltered in a heat wave Saturday that hospitalized some people, with temperatures forecast to hit dangerous levels throughout the weekend in Washington, Oregon, Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. 1.2 million people were under extreme heat risk, meaning temperatures were expected to stay dangerously high with no relief overnight
The largest area under the warning was around Tucson, Arizona, where the National Weather Service forecast highs between 102 and 107 degrees Fahrenheit (39 and 42 degrees Celsius)
Areas of inland Southern California also faced extreme risk
Another 18.6 million were under major heat risk nationwide, affecting workers and anyone without regular cooling and hydration, including in Miami
Portland, Oregon, reported a record high for Aug. 22, according to preliminary data: 102 degrees (38.9 Celsius)
If upheld it would break the 98-degree (36.7-degree Celsius) high for the date, set in 1942, according to the NWS
Struggling through the smothering heat were long-distance runners in a Portland’s annual Hood to Coast relay race, which goes from inland Mt
Hood to the Pacific Ocean
At least one runner competing as part of a group of athletes over 50 lost consciousness after running 4 miles (6.4 kilometers)
David Loftus said he does not remember collapsing but his companions told him it happened shortly after he passed the baton. “Some other stranger saw me wobbling and caught me before I hit the ground,” Loftus said
When he regained consciousness, he saw an ambulance there to pick him up
Loftus, a writer and amateur actor from Portland, said Saturday that he hydrated and doused himself with water before his leg of the race but it wasn’t enough
He was held for observation overnight at a hospital but recovered
Around the time Loftus took the baton, a notice of extreme heat emergency was posted for Portland and the surrounding county
Emergency visits and 911 calls were up. “Typically, we see a single visit or no visits
Yesterday, we had 16 visits, six of them from Hood to Coast participants,” Brendon Haggerty of the Multnomah County Health Department said via . “The Portland metro area is facing the highest heat risk of 2025.” In June 2021 the city recorded a high of 116 (46 Celsius) during a heat wave that resulted in more than 100 deaths
Most of the victims d alone, and the vast majority were 60 or older, but the youngest was 37, officials said at the time.Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world
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