Temperatures were so extreme in Death Valley National Park this week that a medical helicopter was unable to respond to the scene when a 71-year-old man was dying.
(Bloomberg) — Temperatures were so extreme in Death Valley National Park this week that a medical helicopter was unable to respond to the scene when a 71-year-old man was dying.
The local coroner in California still has to determine the cause of his death on Wednesday, but officials suspect extreme heat — that hit 121F when he died — was a factor, according to the National Park Service.
Higher temperatures can make it harder for helicopters to fly as hot air is less dense than cold air. Thinner, hot air provides less oxygen for the combustion of fuel in a helicopter’s engine, reducing power and straining lift-off capability.
Death Valley is regularly the hottest place on Earth. Its long, narrow basin, which sits 282 feet below sea level, traps hot air before it can rise above surrounding mountains and cool off. In 1913, the temperature hit 134F.
The park and the surrounding region have been scorched this month, with the daily high temperature for Death Valley set to exceed 120F for the seventh straight day on Thursday. The American southwest has been a major epicenter of a hemispheric heat wave spanning the US and other parts of the world.
Read more: Heat Index Over 105F Bakes US From Coast to Coast: Weather Watch
The incident potentially marks the second heat-related fatality at Death Valley this summer, with the first coming when a 65-year-old man died from apparent heat illness at the park on July 3.
–With assistance from Thomas Black.
(Updates with record temperatures in fourth paragraph.)
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