PHOENIX (AP) — Cam Ferguson heads to his spot on the street next to Chase Field — home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks — about four hours before first pitch to set up his usual display of cold water, sports drinks, peanuts and candy.

On this Labor Day afternoon, the temperature in downtown Phoenix is ​​about 102 degrees Fahrenheit when the game begins. Business is in full swing.

“Two for five, but there are eight inside!” shouts another vendor selling water bottles. “Plus they’re having some problems with the air conditioning in there.”

It’s always hot in central Arizona this time of year, but 2024 will be an endless summer with particularly high temperatures in Phoenix. On Tuesday, the city recorded its 100th consecutive day of temperatures of at least 100 degrees, long breaking the record of 76 days in a row set in 1993, according to data from the National Weather Service.

READ MORE: Triple-digit temperatures scorch the southwest, millions of people warned of extreme heat

“That’s definitely a striking number,” said NWS meteorologist Sean Benedict.

On May 27, the temperature in Phoenix reached 38.9 °C (102 °F) and has risen above 120 °C daily since then.

Benedict said long periods of heat in the desert are usually interrupted by rain, but the monsoon hasn’t done much. The sustained heat also set in early, and days with triple-digit temperatures began to become more frequent as early as May.

It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a break anytime soon.

Unseasonably high temperatures are expected across the Western U.S. this week. An extreme heat warning has been issued for cities in Arizona, including Phoenix and Lake Havasu City, as well as Las Vegas and other parts of Nevada, including Laughlin and Pahrump, for Wednesday through Friday.

It will also be warmer in the Californian desert communities of Palm Springs, Twentynine Palms, Needles and Barstow: In Furnace Creek in Death Valley, maximum temperatures of up to 47.7 °C are expected by the end of the week.

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Public health officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County – home to Phoenix, the hottest metropolitan area in the U.S. – say there have been 150 confirmed heat-related deaths this year as of Aug. 24, and another 443 are under investigation. Last year, there were 645 heat-related deaths in the county of about 4.5 million residents.

However you analyze the data, 2024 marks another record-breaking summer in Phoenix. It was the meteorologically hottest summer, which includes the months of June, July and August. And it’s the same picture across the Western U.S., with several locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico setting or coming close to setting records.

Increased wildfire danger warnings have been issued across California. A fire that broke out Monday and was fed by erratic winds knocked out power and prompted evacuation orders for more than 500 residents of a remote forest community near Lake Tahoe. The Bear Fire, about 20 miles north of Truckee, had expanded to more than 2,000 acres by Tuesday morning and was not under control.

Cooling centers have been set up across Los Angeles County, where authorities urged residents to check on elderly, sick or otherwise vulnerable neighbors who are at risk in the high temperatures. “Hot days aren’t just uncomfortable – they can be dangerous,” said Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County’s health officer.

READ MORE: How scorching summer heat can cause burns

For street vendors, there is no respite from the heat. The same is true for many other people in the Phoenix area, especially construction workers and landscapers.

Ferguson’s job out in downtown Phoenix is ​​hot. The concrete and asphalt all over downtown makes it seem even hotter, and the heat radiates through the streets as more than 40,000 fans gather for a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.

“Lots of sun protection shirts and ice cold water,” Ferguson said of dealing with the heat. “That’s the only way to get through it.”

Chase Field can be air-conditioned and has a retractable roof that is closed for most games in the height of summer, which obviously benefits fans and players. But keeping the massive stadium cool in the summer is sometimes difficult, and players have occasionally commented on how surprisingly stuffy it gets inside.

Ramiro Lopez has worked as a landscaper in suburban Phoenix for five years and says every summer seems hotter than the last. Between jobs, he takes breaks in his air-conditioned truck to beat the heat, but the last three months have been a struggle.

“I’ve learned to drink a lot of sports drinks and make sure I’m done by 1 p.m.,” Lopez said. “Otherwise it’s just too much.”

In Phoenix, there were 37 nights this summer where temperatures did not drop below 90 °F (32.2 °C) – another record.

There were also 54 days with temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, just one day away from breaking last year’s record of 55 days. That number could be broken later this week. The heat is hard on everyone, but it’s especially hard on low-income areas.

“Not being able to cool down at night can be detrimental to health as heat can build up in the body,” wrote Arizona State University climatologist Erinanne Saffell in an email response. “People should be careful to cool down and stay hydrated.”

Associated Press reporters Anita Snow in Phoenix and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.