"You can't afford to turn your air on anymore. That's very sad," said Morris, who is also staying home more because of high gas prices. "Any other summers, I will turn my air on. But this summer, it's just way too expensive."

Heat waves have impacted the vast majority of the US during the first half of the summer, forcing Americans to deal with sweltering conditions. More than 100 million people were under heat alerts on Tuesday.

High-temperature spells have become more frequent and intense with each passing decade**,** and they last longer than they did before, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"You can't afford to turn your air on anymore. That's very sad," said Morris, who is also staying home more because of high gas prices. "Any other summers, I will turn my air on. But this summer, it's just way too expensive."

Heat waves have impacted the vast majority of the US during the first half of the summer, forcing Americans to deal with sweltering conditions. More than 100 million people were under heat alerts on Tuesday.

High-temperature spells have become more frequent and intense with each passing decade**,** and they last longer than they did before, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.