Record heat is forecast in Arizona and Florida in the coming days

Extreme heat can be especially dangerous for older adults, children, people with disabilities and those who work outside.

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A long and intense heat wave is about to bake parts of Arizona, New Mexico and interior California. Meanwhile, a separate broiling front is causing life-threatening temperatures in South Florida.

The National Weather Service has warned people in several cities, including Phoenix and Miami, to avoid the sun this weekend.

Swaths of the Southwest and Florida are expected to see record-setting temperatures. But those regions are not the only ones to see unusual heat as of late.

Over the past week, the average global air temperature on several days appeared to be the hottest on record, going back to 1979, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Arizona

Over the next week, Phoenix is forecast to reach highs of 106 to 115 degrees. Forecasters said the worst of the heat will come in the middle of the week.

To put in perspective, the normal average high for July is 106.5 degrees, Isaac Smith, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Phoenix, told NPR.

The scorching temperatures come after eight consecutive days of highs above 110 degrees in Phoenix. The combination of hot, dry and windy conditions could also lead to fires, according to the NWS.

The excessive heat warning, which started on July 1, is expected to end on July 16. But Smith said there is a chance that the advisory, along with the extreme weather, will last beyond that.

Meanwhile, highs in Tucson…