France broke its all-time high temperature record of 44.1°C (111.4°F) on Friday as the mercury rose to 45.9°C (114.6°F) in Gallargues-le-Montueux as a blistering heat wave bakes Western Europe, according to Météo-France.
Between the lines, via Axios science editor Andrew Freedman: Heat waves of exceptional magnitude and duration are one of the clearest manifestations of human-caused global warming. Numerous scientific studies have tied increases in heat wave frequency, severity and duration to emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels.
Researchers have for the first time mapped an aquifer under the ocean, suggesting it and other water systems could be a new source of freshwater supply.
Details: The newly mapped aquifer is located off the East Coast, stretching from near Martha's Vineyard to the waters off Long Island and New Jersey.
Records have begun to fall in Western Europe, from Spain to France and Switzerland, as an air mass that originated over the Sahara Desert bakes parts of the continent.
The latest: Temperatures in France have risen to dangerous levels, resulting in a "red," weather warning, the highest level, for the Marseille and Montpellier areas. On Thursday, for the first time on record, the temperature topped out at 41.8 degrees Celsius, (or 107.24°F), according to the UK Met Office. Temperatures are forecast to reach 42-45 degrees Celsius (107-113°F) on Friday.
A new $3.5 million energy storage system went online last month in Ashburnham, Mass., continuing a statewide expansion of systems designed to ease pressure on the electric grid at times of peak demand.
Why it matters: In January, Massachusetts became the first state to offer incentives for battery systems, with the approval of a $2 billion state energy efficiency plan. The program is expected to support the installation of 30–34 MW of storage capacity during its 3-year term, on top of 190 MW from other operating and planned projects.
ExxonMobil is looking to scale up zany-sounding technology that takes carbon dioxide emissions out of the sky by partnering with one of the few companies in the world pursuing that tech.
Driving the news: Exxon, the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company, announced Thursday it signed a joint development agreement to advance technology capturing CO2 with Global Thermostat, a startup co-founded in 2010 by a former Exxon scientist, Peter Eisenberger.
A smoky wildfire in the Everglades has expanded and continued to burn for a third straight day, but officials said Wednesday they've largely contained it.
Details: Florida Department of Agriculture tweeted the wildfire was burning across 42,000 acres of state-managed land, largely through sawgrass west of the city of Weston. But it's 75% contained after a significant amount of rainfall in the region, the department said.
NBC's Chuck Todd asked all 10 candidates at the first Democratic debate on Wednesday to name — preferably in one word — the single greatest geopolitical threat facing the U.S.
