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The human body isn’t built to function at 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet, that’s the life-threatening temperature expected in Arizona this weekend, coming on top of weeks of brutal heat. Patients have already been coming in to Phoenix emergency rooms with sunburn, organ failure or in a coma from the extreme heat, doctors in the area told NBC News. Some people are arriving with dangerously high body temperatures. (Syal, 7/14)

Sweltering high summer temperatures in the Las Vegas Valley could tie or exceed records on Sunday, and an excessive heat warning for the area will remain in effect until Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Harry Reid International Airport reached 100 degrees by 8:40 a.m. Sunday, the weather service tweeted. After twitching between 113 and 115 for several hours, it briefly reached 116 to tie the record for July 16 set in 1998, said weather service meteorologist Trevor Boucher. (Burbank and Romo, 7/14)

Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point Sunday on a record warm summer that is baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said. Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada, reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53.33 degrees Celsius) on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said. (Borenstein, Locher and Beam, 7/16)

Recent arrests of Florida parents are reminders of how quickly the temperature can rise inside a car. More than 1,050 children have died in hot vehicles nationwide since 1990. (Scanlan, 7/16)

A Phoenix man was near death when authorities found him in the scorching Phoenix, Arizona, sun on Wednesday, with one firefighter referring to the individual's brain as "fried." Escalating heat waves nationwide are a cause for concern as people should follow the basics to prevent serious harm or injuries, multiple health experts told Newsweek. Heat waves are characterized as periods of abnormally hot weather usually affecting a high number of people for longer than two days, with or without high humidity. (Mordowanec, 7/14)

Usually, when Houston’s weather approaches an extreme — with temperatures dipping so low or soaring so high they could put people’s health at risk — the city opens its libraries as havens. But when the city sent out its list of cooling centers on Wednesday, there was a notable omission: the Central Library. (Schuetz, 7/14)

The heat wave baking Europe and threatening to make this the hottest summer ever will be dialing up temperatures even more in coming days, thanks to another system from the Sahara. Countries in the southern parts of the continent, already enduring forest fires and heavy thunderstorms, are expected to see their thermometers soar past 40C (104F). Italy’s health ministry issued emergency alerts for 16 cities — including Rome, Florence and Palermo — on Sunday, recommending that people avoid direct sunlight in the hottest hours. (Spence and Casiraghi, 7/16)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted air quality alerts for several states stretching from Montana to Ohio on Sunday because of smoke blowing in from Canadian wildfires. “Air Quality alerts are in place for much of the Great Lakes, Midwest, and northern High Plains,” the National Weather Service said. “This is due to the lingering thick concentration of Canadian wildfire smoke over these regions. While the concentration of smoke in the atmosphere should begin to wain by Monday, there is still enough smoke to support unhealthy air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups in parts of these regions into the start of the upcoming week.” (7/16)

Smoke from the Pika Fire settled on Yosemite Valley early Sunday, causing air quality at “hazardous” levels in parts of the national park, where the wildfire remained uncontained at 650 acres, officials said. Air quality improved Sunday afternoon as the smoke lifted, but the fire – ignited by lightning June 29 – continued to pose a health threat to visitors at Yosemite Village and Turtleback Dome, according to National Park Service air quality trackers. Dozens of firefighters continued battling to get some containment of the blaze Sunday evening. (Mishanec, 7/16)

Smoke from the record-setting Canadian wildfires is again making the air hazardous to breathe this weekend across the Northern Plains and upper Midwest. As the smoke triggers breathing problems for many, it also highlights the fact that more than 5 million Americans don't have easy access to a respiratory specialist. (Yang, Baldwin and Corkery, 7/16)