Extreme Heat
Much of the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing withering high temperatures, which scientists warn are increasingly likely.
Less than two weeks after the Earth recorded what scientists said were likely its hottest days in modern history, Phoenix broke a 49-year-old record on Tuesday with the city’s 19th consecutive day of temperatures 110 degrees (43.3 Celsius) or higher, part of a punishing heat wave that spanned much of the Northern Hemisphere.
The record-breaking temperatures are being driven by emissions of heat-trapping gases, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels and by the return of El Niño, a cyclical weather pattern.
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Even Phoenix, no stranger to sweltering temperatures, struggled to cope with the record-setting heat. “It just feels awful,” said Mazey Christensen, 20, an ice cream scooper.
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Elsewhere in the United States, hot and humid conditions were expected to worsen along the Gulf Coast and throughout the Southeast, according to the National Weather Service.
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A heat wave gripped parts of Europe and the Middle East, with the heat index — which measures how it feels — reaching 152 degrees Fahrenheit (66.7 Celsius) at the Persian Gulf International Airport on Iran’s southwestern coast on Sunday. Dry conditions have also increased the risk of wildfires, which have broken out in Greece and on the Spanish-controlled La Palma, one of the Canary Islands.
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In Asia, John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate change, met with China’s premier in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss cooperation on slowing global warming as a withering heat wave grips the country. Tuesday was the 27th day this year that Beijing has recorded temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius), a record.
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The planet has warmed about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century and will continue to grow hotter until humans essentially stop burning oil, gas and coal, scientists say. The warmer temperatures contribute to extreme-weather events and help make periods of extreme heat more frequent, longer and more intense.
