The heat in the US's Death Valley has killed two people this summer
2024-08-15
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Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 14 (Xinhua) -- Death Valley in California, the desert valley, is known for its extreme heat and dryness. Recently, the temperature has frequently approached or even exceeded 50 degrees Celsius, but a large number of tourists still go there to check in and enjoy the high temperature. The management said on the 12th that another tourist died of heat this month. So far, two tourists have died of heat in Death Valley this summer.
On June 23, people enjoyed the summer heat at Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles, California, the United States. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Zeng Hui)
The Associated Press reported on the 13th, citing Death Valley National Park managers as a source, that on the 1st of this month, the highest temperature in Death Valley National Park was close to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (about 48.9 degrees Celsius). Several witnesses saw a man stumbling and obviously unwell, so they asked him if he needed help. The man initially refused to accept help and returned to his car, but drove down the 6-meter-high embankment. Passersby hurried forward to help, helped him walk to the shade of the parking lot, and helped him call 911 for help.
The park's emergency personnel received a call at 15:50 that day and arrived at the scene about 20 minutes later. According to witnesses, the man was still able to breathe on his own, but stopped breathing before the emergency personnel arrived. Emergency personnel performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him and transferred him to an air-conditioned ambulance. The man was pronounced dead at 16:42.
The investigation revealed that the man was 57 years old and from Duarte, California. According to the autopsy results, his cause of death was hyperthermia.
This is the second tourist who died in Death Valley this summer due to high temperatures. On July 6, a motorcyclist who was traveling to Death Valley died due to high temperatures; four of his companions were treated on site for physical discomfort, and one was sent to the hospital. The highest temperature in Death Valley that day was 53.3 degrees Celsius.
In late July, a European tourist walked barefoot on the sand in Death Valley and suffered third-degree burns.
Death Valley National Park managers remind visitors that hiking in Death Valley is not recommended after 10 a.m. every day, and that visitors should stay within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle. In addition, visitors should drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks, wear sun hats, and apply sunscreen.
Although the park has repeatedly reminded tourists to take precautions against heatstroke, every day many tourists from Europe and the United States still leave their air-conditioned buses and take photos with the desolate local landscape as the background.
Tourists often like to line up to take photos in front of a sign showing the real-time temperature near the visitor reception center in the park. An Associated Press photo shows a tourist wearing a fur coat and holding a large temperature display to take photos last month. The sign next to him showed the temperature was 55 degrees Celsius. The report said that the temperature shown on this sign is slightly higher than the actual temperature, which can better satisfy tourists' curiosity to take photos.
According to managers, when the temperature exceeds 48.8 degrees Celsius, rescue helicopters cannot fly safely, making it difficult to provide timely rescue.
Death Valley is located in the desert valley in southeastern California, USA, and belongs to the Mojave Desert. It is the lowest, hottest and driest place in the entire North American continent. Death Valley National Park was established in 1994. It is located at the border between California and Nevada and is the largest national park in the 48 states of the continental United States. (Yang Shuyi)
Source: Xinhua News Agency
