Extreme Heat and Heat Waves
Global warming has amplified the intensity, duration and frequency of extreme heat and heat waves. The National Academy of Sciences reports and validates numerous studies as well as two major science assessment reviews that definitively identify the fingerprint of human influence in driving the changes observed to date.
The climate has shifted significantly, leading to more heat records in every season. The number of local record-breaking average monthly temperature extremes worldwide is now on average five times larger than expected in a climate with no long-term warming.[1] The trend in global warming has contributed to the severity and probability of 82 percent of record-hot days globally.[2]
Read MoreJun 24, 2021
Northwest Pacific Heat Wave June 2021
Jun 14, 2021
Southwest US Heat Wave June 2021
Sep 7, 2020
California Statewide Heat Wave September 2020
Aug 19, 2021 | NBC News
Caldor Fire explodes more than 8 times its size to nearly 54,000 acres in a day
Aug 18, 2021 | The Washington Post
Wildfires explode again in the West, fanned by turbulent winds
Aug 16, 2021 | NBC News
Heat waves, wildfires & drought: How this summer is a 'preview' of Earth's coming climate crisis
Jul 2, 2018 | Mesonet
Heat Index, Wind Chill
Nov 13, 2017 | Maximiliano Herrera
Extreme Global Temperatures
Jan 16, 2017 | Robert Hart, FSU, CoolWx
Extreme Weather of the World
Jul 6, 2020 | Nature Communications
Increasing trends in regional heatwaves
May 11, 2020 | Science Advances
The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance
Oct 8, 2019 | Ecological Applications
Northern forest winters have lost cold, snowy conditions that are important for ecosystems and human communities
Earth Systems Signals
Global warming is causing widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere.
Heat Signals
The Earth is getting hotter due to human activities that release heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.
Drought Signals
Climate change is making droughts more likely to occur, and more severe when they do.
Wildfires Signals
Climate change is increasing the size, frequency, intensity and seasonality of wildfires.
Hurricanes Signals
Warmer temperatures increase the rate of water evaporation, which feeds moisture and energy into storms.
Floods Signals
Worsening floods due to climate change are putting a growing number of communities at risk.