- People in Las Vegas and Arizona are going to the hospital to be treated for burns amid a heat wave.
- Touching the pavement for just seconds has sent 11 people to a burn center this month in Las Vegas.
- A massive heat wave has taken hold of the Southwestern US for weeks.
A blistering heat wave that has taken hold of the Southwestern US is sending people to hospitals with burns from touching pavement for just a few seconds.
The Los Angeles Times reported that in Las Vegas, a local burn center has admitted 11 patients so far this month, all who had experienced pavement burns.
The same thing is happening in Arizona, according to The Telegraph, where patients have been treated for second-degree burns as the pavement reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
"The asphalt, the concrete, all of these hot surfaces can get up to 170 degrees, and that only takes seconds to cause a deep enough burn to require hospitalization," Yasmin Conaway, burn program manager at the UMC Lions Burn Care Center in Las Vegas, told the LA Times.
Conway said that in some cases, people facing dehydration, intoxication, or other heat-related conditions, people have passed out on the burning hot pavement, increasing their exposure time and causing deeper burns.
Death Valley on Monday hit a whopping 128 degrees Fahrenheit, hitting a near-record high for the hottest place on Earth.
Phoenix, Arizona, hit a new daily record on Wednesday, reaching temperatures of 119 degrees Fahrenheit on the twentieth consecutive day of temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
And the heat isn't going anywhere — it might actually get worse.
In Phoenix, highs could reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit through Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Watch:
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