As extreme heat blanketed much of the United States, a bystander captured on video the moment when a roadway buckled and became a ramp that sent a car flying, Fox 13 Tampa Bay reported. 

"The road exploded and rose over 18 inches, sending a car airborne," Albert Blackwell explained, per Storyful.

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The heat wave, which hit the eastern two-thirds of the continental U.S., set daily temperature highs from Utah to Michigan, according to The Weather Channel. Temperatures in some regions soared into the triple digits, while humidity also remained high.

The video of the road buckling in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, illustrated the severity of the heat, with an estimated 190 million Americans experiencing temperatures in excess of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, per Fox 13.

Like most materials, concrete and asphalt expand as they warm, which can cause roads to buckle under extreme heat, according to Pennsylvania State University.

While concrete mixtures vary based on the materials used, on average, 100 feet of concrete expands roughly 0.7 inches for every 100 degrees Fahrenheit it warms, per Penn State.

While buckling streets create hazardous conditions, other aspects of extreme heat pose much greater risks to human health.

From 2000 to 2019, roughly 500,000 people died every year from heat-related causes, a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health found.

Tragically, this figure is likely to get worse, as heat-trapping pollution continues to drive global temperatures higher. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people exposed to major heat waves grew by 125 million from 2000 to 2016.

While it is not possible to directly connect any extreme weather event to human causes, experts have long established that the release of planet-heating pollution from the burning of fuels such as gas and coal has caused global temperatures to rise.

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This, in turn, has increased the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, from heat waves to floods.

According to the City of Cape Girardeau, the road captured on video was not the only one to buckle in the heat, and officials warned of more to come. 

"With more high temperatures expected this week, the city may experience more street buckling due to the heat," officials said in a Facebook post. "Please drive carefully and be mindful of city workers who will be out repairing streets. Stay safe out there!"

While rising global temperatures might seem like too big of an issue for any of us to do anything about, there are plenty of actions large and small that we all can take to reduce the amount of planet-heating pollution for which we and our families are responsible.

For example, you can significantly reduce your environmental impact by installing solar panels, driving an electric vehicle, growing your own food, or replacing your gas-powered lawn tools with electric ones.

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