America is in new territory.
As a record-breaking heatwave swept the country, hopes for climate legislation were abandoned in Washington.
Texas is experiencing an unprecedented wildfire season and has the hottest temperature in the country so far this year.
When the doors to the Dallas public library opened, people flooded through the entrance to its air-conditioned sanctuary.
Free bottles of water are given to the vulnerable and homeless. These are lifesaving measures being put in place by public libraries across the state.
“Oh my, it’s tough. It’s tough. Especially for an elderly person,” said Richard, who has been homeless for two years.
“This is like a real sanctuary for a lot of people. It’s not just me. Look around. A lot of homeless people are here right now.”
More than 100 million Americans are under heat warning in Texas, Oklahoma and large areas of other southern states.
Richard said it was ‘difficult’
Texans have been asked to conserve water, while farmers are using more as the region is hit by a severe drought.
Fort Worth, about 30 miles west of Dallas, saw America’s hottest temperature this year of 43°C.
Meteorologists at the town’s weather center warn climate change is here to stay and it will lead to big decisions in how we live our lives.
Meteorologist Sarah Barnes said: “As we continue to see these records broken more often, I think we will realize that this is certainly worrying.
“Things won’t get better unless we change.”
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The US is much better equipped with high temperatures than the UK, but demand for air conditioning is putting the nation’s electricity grid under tremendous strain.
Twice in the last week, Texans have been asked to limit their electricity use because demand is dangerously close to overload.
Still fresh in the minds of residents was a power outage in the winter of 2021 that left power out for days.
Regulators are warning that the pattern of prolonged blackouts that have become familiar in Texas and California could become much more common as summers get hotter and longer.
The United States is one of the world’s largest contributors to global warming, but there is still no climate policy that matches the relevant conditions on the ground.
President Biden rejoined the Paris climate accord shortly after he took office and has a rather ambitious agenda to put America back at the center of the world’s efforts to reduce global warming.
But last week, hopes of passing climate legislation were dashed in Congress. Mr. Biden now says he has an action plan to tackle the climate emergency.
With the leadership of a new president, it is hoped that this will be the era in which America will act together in addressing climate change.
But amid wildfires and a scorching heatwave, that still seems far out of reach.
