New research shows that the amount of heat the planet traps has roughly doubled since 2005, contributing to more rapidly warming oceans, air and land. Oceans absorb most of that heat, about 90 percent. That extra heat, especially in the oceans, will mean more intense hurricanes and marine heat waves.

Climate change is making  heat waves more intense, more frequent, longer lasting, and more dangerous resulting in record breaking extremes: September 2020 was the world’s hottest month ever recorded, and in June 2021, Portland, Oregon had a day with 108 degrees, which broke all heat records. The summer of 2021 is now the warmest summer on record in the U.S., barely eclipsing the extreme heat of 1936’s Dust Bowl.

Extreme heat contributes to wildfire conditions, exacerbates drought, and endangers health.

NRDC has a heat map that is searchable by address. C2ES’ Resilience Strategies for Extreme Heat provide solutions for adaptation that be implemented on both an individual and community level.

And, if you are curious about how the temperatures in your hometown have risen since you were born and how much hotter they are predicted to become, take a look at this  New York Times Climate piece.