A dangerous heat wave is gripping much of the Eastern United States, and while scorching daytime temperatures are grabbing headlines, health experts are sounding the alarm about something else: the nights are not cooling down either.
Across a wide stretch of the country, from the Midwest all the way to the East Coast, temperatures are expected to climb past 100 degrees — with up to 90 million Americans feeling the effects of the extreme heat.
But the problem does not end when the sun goes down. Nighttime temperatures are staying unusually elevated, and that is creating a serious health concern. When the body cannot cool itself overnight, it never fully recovers from the stress of the daytime heat — and that can become life-threatening, especially for vulnerable populations.
Experts say this combination of relentless daytime highs and warm overnight lows is what makes this particular heat event especially dangerous for millions of people.
