Heat waves overlap as warming climate makes extreme temperatures more likely
Pick a spot on Earth. Chances are, there's a climate emergency unfolding there right now.
Pick a spot on Earth. Chances are, there's a climate emergency unfolding there right now.
Parts of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia are sweltering under extreme heat, with record-breaking temperatures baking regions of the world already grappling with wildfires and severe drought.
In the United Kingdom, a new provisional record of 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit was observed Tuesday, obliterating the country's previous high of 101.6 F that was set just three years ago. Firefighters in France, Spain, Portugal and Greece have been battling wildfires that are ravaging a southern swath of the continent.
And this month, two melting glaciers — in Italy and Kyrgyzstan — collapsed within a week, triggering avalanches of snow and ice that killed at least 11 hikers in Italy's Dolomites region.
Across the Atlantic, more than 140 million Americans are preparing for a blistering heat wave that is set to blanket much of the country, from central California across the Mississippi River Valley and into the Northeast.
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