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NASA map captures extent of punishing heat in U.S.
The U.S. has contended with unrelenting temperatures this summer, and a map from NASA paints a dire picture of the scale of those persistent heat waves.
The map, which consists of a snapshot of temperatures nationwide for July 10, used satellite images — along with a complex mathematical model known as the Goddard Earth Observing System — to create a kind of color code, with dark red showing areas that reached highs of 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the NASA Earth Observatory, a program that examines the impact of climate change.
The results are stark, indicating potentially dangerous temperatures across nearly the entire continental U.S. The Southwest sustained the brunt of the heat, according to the map, with almost the entire region experiencing triple-digit highs.
NASA Earth Observatory images
The day the map was released, Las Vegas set a daily record of 118 degrees, which also marked the fifth straight day of temperatures 115 degrees or higher, a record as well, according to the National Weather Service.
Just three days prior, California’s famous Death Valley hit a staggering 129 degrees on July 7, the National Park Service reported, just five degrees off the all-time world record of 134 degrees, which was set in 1913.
And on July 6, a Death Valley motorcyclist died from heat exposure as temperatures hit a high of 128 degrees, according to the National Park Service, and four other motorcyclists from his group were hospitalized. Officials told CBS News in a statement that it was too hot for park rangers to even call a helicopter to airlift them out.
NASA Earth Observatory images
The rest of the U.S. did not seem to fare much better. Oregon officials reported five possible heat-related deaths statewide on July 10, according to CBS affiliate KOIN, and at least 17 dating back to July 5.
And after tearing through the Caribbean, causing major damage and destruction, Hurricane Beryl made landfall in southeast Texas on July 8, knocking out power to more than three million customers in the Houston area. Millions remained without power for several days amid searing temperatures that saw the heat index — which measures what the temperature feels like to the human body, taking into account humidity — above 100 degrees.
The heat, meanwhile, shows no sign of abating this week, especially in the Northeast. Tuesday was expected to be one of the hottest days of the year so far for New York City, with a heat index also above 100. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday advised low-income residents to apply for a free air conditioner through the federal Home Energy Assistance Program.
Boston was also experiencing several days of highs in the low to mid-90s, and according to CBS Boston meteorologist Terry Eliasen, the city was on pace for one of the hottest and most humid Julys on record.
Washington, D.C., hit 104 degrees Tuesday, per the weather service. According to CBS affiliate WUSA, that tied a daily record set in 1988. It also marked the third straight day of triple-digit temperatures for the nation’s capital.
According to the latest National Weather Service forecast, excessive heat watches and warnings were in place Tuesday for portions of the Pacific Northwest, the Southern Plains, the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley, the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and the Central Gulf Coast.
“Extremely dangerous and potentially deadly heat, particularly for urban areas in the Southeast and East Coast, are forecast” through Wednesday, the weather service said.
U.S. and European law enforcement agencies are working together to investigate whether incendiary devices detonated in July at DHL logistics hubs in Germany and the U.K. were part of a larger operation directed by Russian Intelligence services (in particular, the GRU — Russian military intelligence), the highest level of the Russian government or by outside individuals acting in the interests of Russia, a source familiar with the matter said.
Officials are working to determine whether the larger operation was to place similar devices on aircraft servicing the U.S. and U.S. allies. The Wall Street Journal first reported the alleged plot targeting U.S. aircraft.
The 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment published at the end of October said the U.S. continues to be concerned about threats to the aviation and air cargo systems, including the “potential use of the air cargo supply chain to ship concealed dangerous and potentially deadly items.”
DHL said in a statement that it was aware “of two recent incidents involving shipments in our network. We are fully cooperating with the relevant authorities to protect our people, our network and our customers’ shipments.”
“We continually adjust our security posture as appropriate and promptly share any and all relevant information with our industry partners, to include requirements and recommendations that help them reduce risk,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.
“Over the past several months, as part of a multi-layered security approach, TSA worked with industry partners to put additional security measures for U.S. aircraft operators and foreign air carriers regarding certain cargo shipments bound for the United States, in line with the 2021 TSA Air Cargo Security Roadmap,” the TSA’s statement continued.
The FBI declined to comment.
contributed to this report.
Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists on Wednesday voted to approve the plane manufacturer’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger planes.
The union said 59% voted to accept the contract. Members have the option of returning to work as soon as Wednesday, but must be back at work by Tuesday, November 12, the union said in a statement.
Union leaders had strongly urged members to ratify the latest proposal, which would boost wages by 38% over the four-year life of the contract, up from a proposed increase of 35% that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had rejected last month.
The revised deal also provides a $12,000 cash bonus to hourly workers and increased contributions to retirement savings plans. The enhanced offer doesn’t address a key sticking point in the contentious talks — restoration of pensions — but Boeing would raise its contributions to employee 401K plans.
Average annual pay for machinists, now $75,608, would climb to $119,309 in four years under the current offer, Boeing said.
The vote came after IAM members in September and October rejected lesser offers by the Seattle-based aerospace giant.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers stated last week in backing Boeing’s revised offer. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su has played an active role in the negotiations, after recently helping to end a days-long walkout that briefly closed East and Gulf Coast ports.
The Boeing strike that began on Sept. 13 marked the latest setback for the manufacturing giant, which has been the focus of multiple federal probes after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident revived concerns about the safety of the aircraft after two crashed within five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.
During the strike, Boeing was unable to produce any new 737 aircraft, which are made at the company’s assembly plants in the Seattle area. One major Boeing jet, the 787 Dreamliner, is manufactured at a nonunion factory in South Carolina.
The company last month reported a third-quarter loss of $6.1 billion.
contributed to this report.
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