By Alyssa Lukpat , Joseph De Avila , Eric Niiler , Eric Sylvers and Margherita Stancati Updated July 18, 2023 4:28 pm ET 1619 Responses Explore Audio Center
Deadly heat waves are upending daily life in large parts of the U.S., Europe and Asia, as warming oceans and unprecedented humidity fuel one of Earth’s hottest summers on record.
Meteorologists say last month was the hottest June on record and 2023 could be the hottest year ever if July’s record temperatures continue, straining businesses and threatening power grids.
Several factors are contributing to the record heat this summer, said Brett Anderson, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. Among them: Unusually warm oceans are raising humidity levels; several heat domes are trapping warmth around the world for longer than usual; and jet streams are causing deadly storms like the ones in Vermont this month to move slowly.
The hot seas and a recurring warm climate pattern called El Niño are compounding the effects of climate change, which scientists say is contributing to higher global temperatures. National Park Service Rangers on Sunday posed next to a digital temperature display in California’s Death Valley. Photo: ronda churchill/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The waters off Florida in recent weeks have been hotter than 90 degrees, according to NOAA, threatening the coral reefs off the coast. Photo: MARIA ALEJANDRA CARDONA/REUTERS
“We are seeing an increasing number and more extremes and this is because of global warming,” said Jose Alvaro Mendes Pimpao Alves Silva, a consulting climatologist for the World Meteorological Organization, referring to extreme heat waves. “These situations are not unprecedented. But as they happen, their intensity is higher.”
Climate change has exacerbated extreme heat events, which have increased sixfold since the 1980s, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Increasing surface temperatures from climate warming make heat waves longer, more intense, and produce the weather conditions that keep them stalled over one place.
Global ocean temperatures hit record highs for the third consecutive month after El Niño conditions strengthened in June, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
High-pressure heat domes that bring sweltering temperatures have occurred during the past few summers, but having four of them over land at the same time is still surprising to Carl Schreck, a tropical climatologist at North Carolina State University who works with NOAA.
Sources: Jose Álvaro Mendes Pimpao Alves Silva, World Meteorological Organization; European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and Copernicus Climate Change Service; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Carl Churchill/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“We’ve seen this over the last couple of summers, but it’s still remarkable when it does appear,” said Schreck.
Still, the sustained heat waves haven’t stopped tourists from hitting the beach in Spain or visiting landmarks in Washington, D.C. Some have even basked in the heat in California’s Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth.
Punishing heat this summer has helped stoke wildfires in places like Canada, Southern California, Spain and Panorama settlement near Agioi Theodori in Greece. There, a fireman douses flames on Tuesday. Valerie Gache/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Phoenix on Tuesday faced its 19th day in a row with temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the city’s previous record from 1974, according to the National Weather Service. People sought shelter from the heat there at a cooling center last week. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A heat dome has trapped warmth over Oklahoma and Texas for weeks, generating some of the worst heat and humidity in the country this summer. An EMT in Oklahoma gathered chilled liquids on Friday. Michael Noble Jr. for WSJ
Iraqi security forces stood guard during a heat wave at a demonstration against water scarcity and power outages in Baghdad on Tuesday. Murtaja Lateef/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images U.S.
Several cities, including Phoenix, have broken records as the southern U.S. deals with unrelenting heat. El Paso, Texas, logged a record 33rd day in a row Tuesday with triple-digit temperatures. Texas’ power grids have held up despite concerns they couldn’t handle demand surges.
In the North, parts of Michigan, New York and Vermont have also broken daily temperature records this summer.
The waters off Florida in recent weeks have been hotter than 90 degrees, several degrees above normal, according to NOAA. The temperatures are threatening the coral reefs off the coast and fueling heat and humidity in the southern part of the state. Europe
Europe is baking under a sustained heat wave that is covering much of the Mediterranean, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The Spanish state meteorological service warned of temperatures of between 108 and 111 degrees and issued alerts for the interior and Balearic Islands. Parts of the Balkans are also under alert.
The Italian island of Sardinia was forecast to approach an all-time high for the continent on Tuesday. Sicily set the highest recorded temperature in Europe at 119.8 degrees Fahrenheit, in August 2021. Italy’s national meteorological service issued alerts for extreme heat in the southern part of the country. In the north, concertgoers in Milan waited to enter a stadium on Tuesday. Photo: Piaggesi/ROPI/ZUMA Press Restaurants in Rome set up misting fans during the European heat wave. The heat is forecast to intensify in Europe by the middle of the week. Photo: Gaia Squarci/Bloomberg News The Acropolis, the leading tourist attraction in Athens, was packed with tourists even during a heat wave last week. Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis/Zuma Press
Alberto Urpi, the mayor of Sanluri in Sardinia, said authorities had issued a weather red alert for the area, advising people to stay inside from late morning until 6 p.m.
“We are ready,” said Urpi. “We’ve gotten used to these heat waves and have had time to organize our response.”
Authorities closed the Acropolis in Athens for a large part of Friday and Saturday due to the heat. The Greek capital is forecast to stay above 97 degrees all week, topping out at almost 110 on Sunday. Europe’s Heat Wave: Wildfires Leave Trail of Destruction in Greece You may also like Europe’s Heat Wave: Wildfires Leave Trail of Destruction in Greece Europe’s Heat Wave: Wildfires Leave Trail of Destruction in GreecePlay video: Europe’s Heat Wave: Wildfires Leave Trail of Destruction in Greece Wildfires destroyed buildings and burned swaths of land outside of Athens as intense heat sweeps across southern Europe. Other parts of the continent as well as China and the U.S. have been hit by record-breaking temperatures. Photo: Petros Giannakouris/AP Asia
Another heat wave is simultaneously sweeping across parts of Asia. In China, a village in the northwestern region of Xinjiang hit a record high 126 degrees, according to state media.
During the heat wave, the U.S. Climate Envoy, John Kerry, met Chinese officials including Beijing’s top foreign policy envoy, Wang Yi, and Premier Li Qiang to discuss how to accelerate decarbonization and other climate change goals. China and the U.S. are the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters. U.S. Climate Envoy, John Kerry, is in Beijing to revive bilateral cooperation on how to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Photo: Florence Lo-Pool/Getty Images Citizens in Nanjing cooled off in an air-raid shelter last week. Photo: Cfoto/NurPhoto/Zuma Press
Silva from the World Meteorological Organization said there are currently high-pressure systems trapping hot air in the region. The systems will remain in place over the next several days.
“It’s moving very slowly, but we will not have this situation forever,” Silva said.