This summer is shaping up to be a major record breaker as the Earth continues becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere.
Just take a step outside. Dangerous heat has engulfed much of the country as one heat wave continues from the Southern Plains to the Southeast and another begins in the West.
The National Weather Service says most regions will see temperatures reach the upper 90s and low 100s this week. High humidity values could push heat indexes into the 105 to 110 degree range, and potentially as high as 115. Other areas will see high temperatures 10-20 degrees above mid-summer averages.
"Many near record-tying/breaking highs are possible," said the NWS Weather Prediction Center. "The combination of hot temperatures/high heat indices, as well as very warm morning lows only dropping into the mid- to upper 70s, will be dangerous to anyone without access to adequate air conditioning."
It's a trend that meteorologists expect to continue all season -- not just in the U.S. but around the world.
"If there is one thing that unites our divided world, it's that we're all increasingly feeling the heat," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.
"Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic -- wilting under increasingly deadly heatwaves, with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world. That's 122 degrees Fahrenheit. And halfway to boiling," Guterres added.
The World Meteorological Organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others have documented a rapid rise in the scale, intensity, frequency and duration of extreme heat events.
Last month, the Earth had its hottest days on record since at least 1940. On July 22, the daily global average temperature reached a new record high at 62.88 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). On July 23, the temperature was 62.87°F and on July 21, it was 62.76°F. All three days were warmer than the previous record of 62.74°F, set only last year on July 6.
Before July 2023, the previous daily global average temperature record was 62.24°F, on August 13, 2016. From July 3, 2023 to July 23, 2024 there have been 59 days that have exceeded that previous record, per C3S.
"What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records. We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years," C3S Director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement.
Another sign of the global warming trend is the fact that the 10 years with the highest annual maximum daily average temperatures are the last 10 years, from 2015 to 2024.
Extreme heat is increasingly tearing through economies, widening inequalities, undermining sustainable development goals and killing almost half a million people a year -- far more than other extreme weather like hurricanes.
"Our Earth is running an unprecedently high fever," said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. "In addition to... three new global daily temperature records, we have seen monthly temperature records for 13 successive months."
"Widespread, intense and extended heatwaves have hit communities on every continent," Saulo added. "At least 10 countries have recorded temperatures of more than [122°F] in more than one location this year. Many dozens of locations have seen daytime maximum temperatures of more than [104°F] and dangerously high minimum overnight temperatures."
Extreme heat, like other facets of the climate crisis, does not affect everyone equally; the most vulnerable and exposed communities in society are hit hardest. So far this year, extreme heat has led to:
• A spike in hospitalizations and deaths in the Sahel in Africa
• Record temperatures across the U.S. – placing 120 million people under heat advisory warnings
• Scorching conditions that killed 1,300 pilgrims during Haj
• Extended heatwaves in Europe
• The closure of schools across Asia and Africa – impacting more than 80 million children
The U.N. is calling on countries across the globe to adopt action plans to manage extreme heat crises and reduce heat deaths. This includes early warning systems for extreme heat at city and national levels, community based heat risk awareness campaigns, and nature based solutions for local cooling.
"In addition, we need to tackle the root cause and urgently reduce greenhouse gas levels, which remain at record observed levels," said Saulo.