It's been dangerously hot for days now.
There's a heat advisory in effect for the Tampa area Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m. Meteorologists expect a high of 94 degrees with a heat index between 105 degrees and 112 degrees.
A thermometer at Tampa International Airport recorded a temperature of 95 degrees on Tuesday, but the National Weather Service said the heat index hit a record-high 119 degrees around 2:30 p.m.
That's just two days after Tampa reached 100 degrees on Sunday for the first time since temperature records were started in 1890.
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Kristina Dahl, vice president for science at the nonprofit Climate Central, said it's not just been hot, it's also been really humid.
"Which you're seeing a lot of people respond to and say, 'It's like walking through pea soup. I can barely breathe outside,'" Dahl said.
The conditions many people have been experiencing over the past week or so have been made five times more likely because of climate change, Dahl said.
"Our scale only goes up to five. So, it's got the maximum signal, which indicates to us that this is an exceptional event," Dahl said.
The scale she's referring to is the Climate Shift Index. It quantifies the role of climate change by incorporating heat-trapping greenhouse gas pollution emitted by people — much of which comes from the transportation and energy sectors.
"According to NOAA and the National Weather Service, Florida can expect above-average temperatures for the rest of the season. This outlook looks out the next three months or so," Dahl said.
"There's no part of the continental U.S. that's expecting normal or below-normal temperatures. It's all above normal."
ALSO READ: Tampa hits 100 degrees for the first time, with more scorching heat in store
Dahl said people have different levels of vulnerability while experiencing the same temperature outside.
Some residents don't have access to air conditioning, or they might have underlying health conditions that make it harder to regulate their body temperatures.
This heat wave comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration has proposed to rollback vehicle pollution standards and rescind a scientific finding from 2009 that six greenhouse gases are a threat to public health.
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"Our communities impacted by heavy pollution, living near freeways, transportation hubs, cities and industrial areas will pay the price of worse health and have their lives at risk. Rolling back this rule is an absolute injustice for millions of people, and will hit our children the hardest," said Chispa senior director Estefany Carrasco-González.
Chispa, meaning "spark" in Spanish, is an arm of the League of Conservation Voters, representing the Latino and low-income communities of color in the fight against climate change.
"Our national leaders have a moral responsibility to protect lives. We are in a full-blown climate crisis, and we don't have time for a climate-denying administration after historic floods, heatwaves and droughts in our communities. People's lives and well-being must be prioritized over industry profit," Carrasco-González said.
The EPA will be holding a public hearing in August and accepting public comments through Sept. 21.
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