The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has confirmed that a woman has died while hiking in the Grand Canyon as the heat wave continues and temperatures rise.
In a statement, NPS said park rangers received a report of a hiker in distress in the Tweep section of Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park around 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening, ABC News reported.
Authorities said the 57-year-old woman lost consciousness during an eight-mile hike in a secluded area of the park.
“Rangers arrived at the scene around 1:00 am on Monday, July 3 and confirmed the hiker’s death,” the statement added.
Temperatures in Tweep on Sunday topped 37 degrees Celsius, according to NPS.
Temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius at Phantom Ranch, near the Colorado River, southeast of the scene.
Excessive heat warnings are in place for parts of the Grand Canyon through Wednesday, ABC News reported, citing NPS officials.
Parks officials recently urged hikers and backpackers to prepare for extremely hot temperatures in the coming weeks.
About 35 million Americans are wary of dangerously high temperatures, and the center of the heat dome lies in the west.
Monday temperatures hit 45 degrees in Phoenix and Palm Springs, 44 degrees in Las Vegas and 48 degrees in Death Valley.
Eight southern states, from Texas to Georgia, had heat indices ranging from 40 to 46 degrees Celsius on July 1.
2023070433651
