The Biggest Heat Dome In History
A heat dome can occur when high pressures and traps heat across huge geographic areas. The Guardian has provided a definition. “A heatwave can be caused by several factors including a heat dome, which occurs when strong, high pressure traps hot air over a region, preventing cool air from traveling in and causing temperatures to rise on the ground and stay high.”
There have been several heat domes which have affected hundreds of millions of people at once. One in Russia in 2010, was estimated to have killed 50,000 people. Another which covered part of western Canada and the US lasted 27 days.
Hot For 60 Days?
Arguably, the largest heat dome in history happened this year in the US. This year’s Eastern US heat dome affected the largest population of 270 million in an area which stretched from the Gulf to the Northeast, making it a top contender for spatial scale. That is apparently the largest based on square mileage. (The entire US population is about 325 million people.)
What is not certain is whether the size and duration of heat domes will expand as global warming changes the environment. Based on the science of what causes heat, it is likely to do so. In theory, there could be a heat dome that covers much of some section of the world, which could be outside the US, for a month, with temperature above 100 degrees for the duration
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