Before you do anything else, you might want to look at an amazing chart that shows you 2,000 years of Earth’s climate…

Heat

HEAT

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 intensemore 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.

One in two people globally faced all-time record-breaking heat in the past 10 years.

That is the startling finding of a new interactive analysis by Carbon Brief’s Dr Zeke Hausfather and Tom Prater, which lays bare the impact of the 1.2C of global warming Earth has already experienced.

In 2022 alone – which was the fifth or sixth warmest year on record for the Earth’s surface – approximately 380 million people saw their hottest single hourly temperature ever recorded, according to the analysis.

CURRENT NEWS

Hot summer ahead for much of the U.S.

By Andrew Freedman 05/19/23
The climate outlook for June through August shows a broad swath of the Lower 48 states and Alaska are likely to see a hotter than average summer. Why it matters: Prevailing weather conditions during the…
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We’re About to See a Rare and Record-Setting May Heat Wave

By Andrea Thompson 05/12/23
It may still be spring, but baking summer heat is about to hit the famously comfortable Pacific Northwest and western Canada. Starting this weekend, the heat wave will send temperatures soaring 20 to 25 degrees…
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‘A New Spike’ in Global Temperatures in the Forecast

By Elena Shao 05/03/23
Forecasters from the World Meteorological Organization are reporting increased chances that the global climate pattern known as El Niño will arrive by the end of summer. With it comes increased chances for hotter-than-normal temperatures in…
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State of the climate: Growing El Niño threatens more extreme heat in 2023

By Zeke Hausfather 04/28/23
Exceptionally warm conditions are being driven by the end of a persistent triple-dip La Niña and a rapid transition into warmer El Niño conditions. Taking the first three months of the year, global surface temperatures…
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Will global warming make temperature less deadly?

By Harry Stevens 02/16/23
The scientific paper published in the June 2021 issue of the journal Nature Climate Change was alarming. Between 1991 and 2018, the peer-reviewed study reported, more than one-third of deaths from heat exposure were linked…
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The surprising reasons parts of Earth are warming more slowly

By Scott Dance and Others 12/14/22
It has become common to focus on the fastest-warming places, regions where human-charged climate change is raising temperatures at an alarming speed. In the Arctic, where sea ice is rapidly disappearing, warming may be occurring…
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Extreme heat will change us

By Alissa J. Rubin, Ben Hubbard, Josh Holder et al. 11/18/22
On a treeless street under a blazing sun, Abbas Abdul Karim, a welder with 25 years experience, labors over a metal bench. Everyone who lives in Basra, Iraq, reckons with intense heat, but for Abbas…
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In a warming world, who wins: Goats or sheep?

By Dino Grandoni 10/17/22
The decline of ice in Glacier National Park is revealing once buried salt licks. Now mountain goats and bighorn sheep are fighting over them.
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Extreme heat: Preparing for the heat waves of the future

10/10/22
Climate change is already having severe impacts across our planet, bringing new and previously unimaginable challenges to the people least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. This joint report by the IFRC, United Nations Office for…
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Wsj

U.S. Heat Wave Hits Supermarkets’ Produce Sections

By Jaewon Kang and Others 09/11/22
High temperatures in the Western U.S. are hitting the produce industry, damaging crops, shrinking shipments and leaving fewer leafy greens and fruits on supermarket shelves. A California grower said some of his lettuce leaves are…
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California set to be first state with extreme heat warning system under bills signed by Newsom

By Hannah Fry and Others 09/09/22
As much of the West continued to swelter in a record-breaking heat wave, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a package of legislation aimed at protecting Californians from extreme heat, including establishing a statewide warning…
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Extreme Heat Poses an Emerging Threat to Food Crops

By Liza Gross 09/09/22
As the American West grapples with another dangerous heat wave in the midst of a megadrought, official advisories rightly focus on short-term measures to keep people cool and hydrated. Yet as record-breaking heat waves become…
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KEY RESOURCES

Maps show where extreme heat shattered 7,000 records this summer

09/13/22
It was the summer that wouldn’t quit. From early June to straight past Labor Day, waves upon waves of heat scorched and baked the country, smashing thousands of temperature records along the way.

An “Extreme Heat Belt” will soon emerge in the U.S., study warns

08/15/22
A new study reveals the emergence of an "extreme heat belt" from Texas to Illinois, where the heat index could reach 125°F at least one day a year by 2053.

More dangerous heat waves are on the way: See the impact by Zip code.

08/15/22
It was the middle of July and already this summer had become a top contender for the hottest in Texas’s recorded history. In San Antonio, which by July would normally experience about three days of…

NOAA and communities to map heat inequities in 14 U.S. cities and counties

04/26/22
"Extreme heat kills more Americans than any other weather event and has the greatest impact on our nation's most vulnerable communities," said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. "Fortunately, our talented and dedicated researchers and…

It’s official: July was Earth’s hottest month on record

08/13/21
“In this case, first place is the worst place to be,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “July is typically the world’s warmest month of the year, but July 2021 outdid itself as the hottest…

The Climate Crisis

08/11/21
We all live in two worlds: a physical one and a social one. The new report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was released on Monday, is ostensibly about the physical world. It…

Assessing the U.S. Climate in June 2021

07/21/21
The June contiguous U.S. temperature was 72.6°F, 4.2°F above the 20th-century average, ranking warmest in the 127-year record and surpassing the previous record for June set in 2016 by 0.9°F. The year-to-date average temperature for…

Watching the Land Temperature Bell Curve Heat Up (1950-2020)

06/04/21
This visualization shows that as land temperatures have increased since 1950, hotter days have become more common and colder days have become less common.

Global risk of deadly heat

10/01/20
Climate change can increase the risk of conditions that exceed human thermoregulatory capacity.

Global death rate from rising temperatures projected to surpass the current death rate of all infectious diseases combined

08/03/20
How much is temperature to blame when hospital visits surge during heat waves and cold spells? What role might adaptations like indoor heating and cooling systems play in blunting those effects? And, at what cost?…

Newly released satellite data reveals the patterns of record warmth in 2019

01/31/20
Last year was the second-warmest on record for the globe, but in many places, such as Australia and Alaska, temperatures were unprecedented in modern record-keeping. This is known from data gathered by thermometers at the…

2,000 years of Earth’s climate in one simple chart – and the copycat that isn’t what it seems

01/30/20
What were global temperatures the year Jesus was born, during the 12th century when Genghis Khan ruled the Mongol Empire, and in 1503 when Leonardo da Vinci started painting the Mona Lisa — and how…

Climate Impact Map

11/05/19
The Climate Impact Lab is a unique collaboration of 30 climate scientists, economists, computational experts, researchers, analysts, and students from some of the nation’s leading research institutions.

Extreme climate change has arrived in America

08/13/19
Before climate change thawed the winters of New Jersey, this lake hosted boisterous wintertime carnivals. As many as 15,000 skaters took part, and automobile owners would drive onto the thick ice. Thousands watched as local…

Heat Safety Tips and Resources

09/11/19
This website is designed to inform you about the health dangers of heat, prepare you for excessive heat events, and tell you what to do during an excessive heat wave.

MORE NEWS

Tracking Dangerous Heat in the U.S.

By Matthew Bloch, Lazaro Gamio and Others   09/23/22  
Dangerous levels of heat are forecast in the South, West and Midwest on Monday, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
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No September on record in the West has seen a heat wave like this

By Jason Samenow   09/08/22  
The heat wave that’s been gripping California and other parts of the West for 10 days and counting is the most severe ever recorded in September, weather experts have said — confirming what California’s governor…
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Weather Updates: California avoids rolling blackouts

09/07/22  
Cities across California set record high temperatures on Tuesday, including Sacramento at 116 degrees. The heat wave will continue across the West on Wednesday, but ease by the weekend.
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Punishing heat wave in West sets records, fuels fires

By Matthew Cappucci, Diana Leonard and Others   09/02/22  
Nearly 50 million Americans are under alerts through Labor Day weekend because of a prolonged heat wave that has already set dozens of records throughout the West...
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Night-time heat is killing crops. Scientists are rushing to find resilient plants

09/01/22  
As the sun sets outside with temperatures in the high 80s, where they’ll stay most of the night, several varieties of potted rice plants grow in two sections of a greenhouse on the roof of…
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California hopes to avoid blackouts amid heatwave by asking millions of people to use less electricity

By Celina Tebor   09/01/22  
A multi-state heatwave will test California's electric grid over Labor Day weekend as triple-digit temperatures hit millions of people simultaneously, prompting concern that the state could once again turn to rolling blackouts. State officials hope…
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California heat waves are getting worse. Blame the vicious ‘heat dome’

By Grace Toohey and Alexandra E. Petri   08/31/22  
The extreme temperatures that will bear down on California over the next week are the result of a “heat dome,” a phenomenon that typically brings broiling conditions to the state as summer fades into fall.…
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Record-threatening, long-duration heat wave to roast Western U.S

By Matthew Cappucci   08/31/22  
San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento are all included in excessive heat watches or warnings over the Labor Day weekend.
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Record heat hits Southwest: More high temps forecast for Labor Day weekend

By Sareen Habeshian and Others   08/31/22  
A prolonged and intense heat wave has begun to swelter much of the Southwest this week — and by early next week, dozens of records are likely to have been set. What to expect: The…
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Extreme heat wave pushing California power grid to limit, with rolling blackouts possible

By Gregory Yee and Others   08/31/22  
The worst heat wave of the year is presenting a critical test for California’s overtaxed power grid, with officials warning rolling blackouts are possible without major conservation efforts during a week of scorching temperatures. Extreme…
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Scientists say new climate law is likely to reduce warming

By Seth Borenstein   08/17/22  
Massive incentives for clean energy in the U.S. law signed Tuesday by President Joe Biden should reduce future global warming “not a lot, but not insignificantly either,” according to a climate scientist who led an…
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Assessing the Global Climate in July 2022

08/12/22  
Globally, July 2022 was the sixth-warmest July in the 143-year NOAA record. The year-to-date (January-July) global surface temperature was also the sixth-warmest on record. According to NCEI’s Global Annual Temperature Outlook, there is a greater…
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We built a fake metropolis to show how extreme heat could wreck cities

By Bonnie Berkowitz and Others   08/11/22  
Most of the mechanical, electrical and architectural systems we count on every day were built to handle what the climate has always been, not what it is rapidly becoming. That means, for instance, that Norwegian…
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Hotter nights could lead to a 60 percent rise in global mortality: study

By Gianna Melillo   08/10/22  
As the United States continues to trudge through a sweltering summer and with a warm fall on the way, new research underscores the potentially deadly ramifications of rising heat at night. Published in The Lancet…
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Cooling centers are turning into next-gen “climate resilience hubs”

By Jennifer A. Kingson   08/09/22  
As cities race to amp up their heat mitigation efforts, some are replacing bare-bones cooling centers with full-service "climate resilience hubs" — offering everything from comfy A/C and phone charging to social services and emergency…
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Mapping the coolest spots inside the world’s sweltering cities

By Laura Millan, Hayley Warren and Jeremy Scott Diamond   08/04/22  
The cement, glass and steel that give shape to urban life have also turned modern cities into dangerous heat sinks. Scorching sunlight gets absorbed, stored and slowly emitted in a bubble of warmth that can…
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This Heat Map of the U.S. Is… Yikes

By Angely Mercado   08/03/22  
We knew July was sweltering, but this air temperature map based on NASA satellite data really puts it in perspective. The darkest areas represent temperatures around or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius)—heat that…
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Major heat wave to swell over Lower 48 after records fall in Northwest

By Matthew Cappucci and Others   08/01/22  
Large parts of the Lower 48 are set to bake this week after a punishing, prolonged heat wave that set records in the Pacific Northwest edges east and south. Few regions will be spared as…
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‘Soon the world will be unrecognisable’: is it still possible to prevent total climate meltdown?

By Robin Mckie   07/30/22  
The publication of Bill McGuire’s latest book, Hothouse Earth, could not be more timely. Appearing in the shops this week, it will be perused by sweltering customers who have just endured record high temperatures across…
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Jet Stream Stokes Both Deadly Midwest Flooding and Northwest Heat

By Brian K Sullivan   07/28/22  
Deadly floods are slamming the US Heartland. More than 2,000 miles away, dangerous heat is scorching the Pacific Northwest. The same phenomenon is to blame for both. A massive bend in the jet stream --…
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Federal government fires up website all about heat

By Lisa Friedman   07/26/22  
The Biden administration unveiled a website on Tuesday to help Americans stay safe from extreme heat, as scorching temperatures continued to grip portions of the country...
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Hundreds of temperature records broken as heat wave scorches the U.S.

By Julia Shapero   07/25/22  
Hundreds of temperature records fell over the past week as an intense heat wave continues to blast the U.S. The big picture: The deadly heat wave set or tied 359 daily high-temperature records over the…
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A 3-part plan to take on extreme heat waves

By Elini Myrivili   07/25/22  
The deadliest severe weather phenomenon is something you might not realize: extreme heat. Eleni Myrivili, chief heat officer of the city of Athens, Greece, explains that extreme heat and heat waves are often overlooked because…
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Brutal heat from Phoenix to Boston triggers alerts for 100 million

By Matthew Cappucci and Jason Samenow   07/22/22  
More than 100 million people in the Lower 48 states are under heat alerts on Thursday amid relentlessly sweltering temperatures that have soared as high as 115 degrees in recent days.
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As concert tours heat the planet, artists try to cut carbon emissions

By Ta'Leah Van Sistine   07/21/22  
Thousands of fans, many holding stainless-steel pint cups, sticker-covered water bottles and aluminum cans, cheered as Jack Johnson took the stage Friday night. Before he began his set at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia,…
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CNN

Hot records are outpacing cool by more than 10-to-1 this year as Europe, US brace for dangerous heat

By Rachel Ramirez & Others   07/18/22  
In the US, 92 all-time record high temperatures had been set through July 16, compared with only five all-time record low temperatures, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Globally, 188…
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These maps show how excessively hot it is in Europe and the U.S.

By Matthew Cappucci   07/18/22  
A historic and deadly heat wave has been scorching western Europe, killing hundreds in Spain and Portugal. Temperatures spiked to 115 degrees on the Iberian Peninsula amid bone-dry conditions, fueling wildfires and displacing thousands of…
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Excessive heat scorches parts of US due to climate change

By Ginger Zee   07/18/22  
Ginger Zee explains how above-average temperatures are directly linked to climate change.
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Texas Urges Power Conservation as Heat Wave Lingers

By Will Wade and Others   07/14/22  
The operator of the Texas power grid is asking homes and businesses to cut back on electricity use Wednesday afternoon as a heat wave continues to smother the state.
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June 2022 was Earth’s 6th-warmest on record

07/14/22  
June’s average global temperature continued 2022’s remarkably warm trend, as both the month and the year so far ranked sixth warmest on record.
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Smog levels in Texas surge during heat wave, bringing worst summer air quality in a decade

By Erin Douglas   07/14/22  
Emissions are reacting with the summer heat to create high levels of smog, hazardous air pollution that damages the lungs. But state officials are pushing back on ozone pollution controls proposed by the EPA, arguing…
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June 2022: U.S. dominated by remarkable heat, dryness

07/11/22  
June kicked off a very warm and dry start to meteorological summer for the U.S., according to experts from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
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Heat domes spike in Europe as climate change helps shift weather patterns

By Andrew Freedman   07/06/22  
A major new study explains why Western Europe has suffered through a series of extreme heat waves that are outpacing even the planet's overall warming trend.
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What Is a Heat Dome?

By William Gallus   07/06/22  
A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area. The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and…
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Heat waves around the world push people and nations ‘to the edge’

By Raymond Zhong   06/24/22  
Millions of Americans are once again in the grips of dangerous heat. Hot air blanketed Europe last weekend, causing parts of France and Spain to feel the way it usually does in July or August.…
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Alaska’s June wildfires break records, fueled by hot, dry weather

By Jacob Feuerstein and Others   06/23/22  
A record number of acres have burned this month in Alaska, forcing Indigenous people from their homes, compromising air quality and stretching firefighting resources thin.
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Extreme heat and humidity kill thousands of cattle in Kansas

By Amy Cheng   06/16/22  
Thousands of cattle in Kansas have died in recent days due to high heat and humidity, dealing a blow to one of the country’s leading cattle production states as the industry grapples with extreme weather…
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NASA’s ECOSTRESS Sees Las Vegas Streets Turn Up the Heat

By Carol Rasmussen   06/15/22  
On June 10, Las Vegas reached a record daily high temperature of 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), and temperatures of the ground surface itself were higher still. NASA’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on…
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Feeding a Hotter Planet

By Somini Sengupta   06/10/22  
Pandemic, war, and climate change have brought matters to a head. The world faces what the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, this week called “an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution.”
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Record heat to peak in Southwest through Saturday, then swell to east

By Matthew Cappucci   06/09/22  
Extreme heat that will challenge records is set to peak Friday and Saturday from the Desert Southwest to California’s Central Valley, before sliding toward the central and eastern United States. Highs could surge 10 to…
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Heat waves could soon have names

By Jennifer A. Kingson   06/08/22  
There's a growing effort to name and categorize heat waves the way we do hurricanes — to call attention to their significance, alert people to dangerous temperatures and prod public officials into action...
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A summer of blackouts? Wheezing power grid leaves states at risk.

By Evan Halper   06/02/22  
The nation’s power grid is under stress like never before, with regulators warning that the kind of rolling outages that are now familiar to California and Texas could be far more widespread as hot summer…
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CNN

Northeast heat wave to persist Sunday

By Allison Chinchar   05/22/22  
More than 20 million people remain under a heat advisory for Sunday across the Northeast as record temperatures stretch from Virginia to New Hampshire. "If highs reach the mid to upper 90s, this will be…
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Record heat fueling violent storms in central U.S.

By Matthew Cappucci and Jason Samenow   05/13/22  
A sprawling dome of summerlike heat has swelled from Texas to Wisconsin and is poised to shatter records in more than a dozen states. Madison, Wis., Chicago, Des Moines, St. Louis, Kansas, Little Rock and…
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Texas Power Grid Faces ‘Emergency’ as Early Heat Waves Scorches State

By Jake Thomas   05/12/22  
Texas' power grid management agency has extended its warning of possible emergency conditions as residents turn to air-conditioning to cope with above normal temperatures. While temperatures are expected to remain high throughout the state, the…
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Oregon Adopts Nation’s Strongest Farmworker Protections for Heat and Wildfire Smoke

By Lynne Terry   05/12/22  
New rules going into effect in Oregon in June and July are expected to protect tens of thousands of workers from illness and death when temperatures soar past 80 or when the air becomes clogged…
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Texas shatters heat record as temperature reaches 112F

By Greg Graziosi   05/10/22  
Heat records in Texas were toppled when temperatures reached as high as 112F (44C), setting off a heatwave that will engulf much of the central US. The record-setting temperatures occurred on Saturday in Texas, but…
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Earth could soon briefly hit threatening climate threshold

By Kasha Patel   05/10/22  
Since signing the Paris climate agreement in 2015, nations around the world have focused on one climate goal: limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels this century. But as…
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Forests are reeling from climate change—but the future isn’t lost

By Craig Welch   04/14/22  
The first thing you notice in this fire-scarred forest is the color. Not long ago this square of land south of Yellowstone National Park was a monochrome of ash and burned pines. But last summer,…
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A global warming pause that didn’t happen hampered climate science

By Alexandra Witze   04/01/22  
It was one of the biggest climate change questions of the early 2000s: Had the planet’s rising fever stalled, even as humans pumped more heat-trapping gases into Earth’s atmosphere?
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