Record-Breaking Heatwave

 

"If you know me, you know how hot it is in my apartment. It's all I talk about. I live in a high-ceilinged loft in a 100-year-old building in Denver. There's no central air conditioning, so I'm stuck with window units that don't do much to cool my big, door-less living room/office/bedroom. 

"Since the outdoor temperature has exceeded 90 degrees almost every day for weeks, the average indoor temperature when I'm working from home is around 86. By 4 p.m., when the sun starts hitting the western window, it creeps up to 88 and 90.

"I'm lucky enough to be able to flee to an air-conditioned coffee shop or library or even a public pool when it gets too hot to bear. But hundreds of thousands of people around the world don't have that luxury. 

"Much of Europe, which is enduring a record-breaking heat wave, simply wasn't built for extreme heat. Air conditioning is a rarity in the UK: As one London-based writer put it in Slate, 'We live in homes originally built for shivering chimney sweeps or something, and so on the whole, homes are built to keep heat in.'

"For many people, extreme heat isn't just uncomfortable: It's deadly. More than 1,000 people have reportedly already died from this week's heat wave in Portugal alone. When extreme heat swept the Pacific Northwest last summer, about 200 people died in Washington and Oregon. 

"People who live in climates that tend to be cooler are particularly vulnerable because they aren't acclimatized to the heat. And, as with many of the effects of climate change, low-income people, especially those who lack adequate shelter, are particularly at risk.

"Aside from ending the use of planet-warming fossil fuels, there are things cities can do to protect their residents before a heat waves hits, like establishing cooling centers or planting more trees. 

"Individuals shouldn't be responsible for tackling systemic issues, but when the wealthy are destroying the planet while the rest of us swelter, we have no choice but to look out for each other. So have a cold drink. Check in on your neighbors. Wherever you are, I hope you're staying cool."

—Abigail Weinberg, Mother Jones

July 21 (Reuters) - Brutal heatwaves are gripping both Europe and the United States this week and are forecast to dump searing heat on much of China into late August. In addition to temperatures spiking above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), wildfires are raging across southern Europe with evacuations in towns in Italy and Greece. Click here to: Read more. 

The searing heat is part of a global pattern of rising temperatures, attributed by scientists to human activity. Pope Francis on Thursday called on world leaders to heed the Earth's "chorus of cries of anguish" stemming from climate change, extreme weather and loss of biodiversity. Click here to: Read more.