The Sahara Desert community of Ouargla, Algeria likely set a new record on Thursday for the hottest temperature in Africa: 124 degrees Fahrenheit (51 degrees Celsius).
Why it matters: Africa is already Earth's hottest continent, and as a series of heat waves shatter longstanding records around the world this summer, it's a reminder that one of the clearest effects of global climate change is more heat extremes.
Hurricane Beryl formed in the tropical Atlantic Ocean early on Friday morning, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.
The big picture: The storm is unusually tiny, with a radius of hurricane force winds of just 10 miles, and with tropical storm force winds felt just 35 miles away from the center. It's forecast to intensify on Friday before weakening as it approaches the Lesser Antilles Islands.
Super Typhoon Maria rapidly intensified on Thursday, becoming the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane northwest of Guam. In doing so, it set a rare milestone.
The big picture: Super Typhoon Maria, which had maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour on Friday morning ET, is forecast to move northwest during the next few days before making a slight westward turn. Computer models are zeroing in on a landfall in heavily populated areas of coastal China, near Shanghai.
It's only early July, and already California is baking under a scorching heat wave, while massive wildfires are burning in the central part of the state.
Other fires are burning in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and other states. Now the heat wave that has roasted the Midwest, Ohio Valley, and East Coast is shifting west, setting the stage for a blistering weekend from Los Angeles to Sacramento, along with parts of the interior West.
What this means: The National Weather Service has issued its most severe heat warning category — an excessive heat warning — for parts of the Los Angeles basin, while much of the rest of the state is under other heat alerts for Friday and Saturday.
Scientists for the first time spotted a new planet being born while nestled within the dusty disk surrounding a young dwarf star. The findings are detailed in two studies describing an exoplanet in its early state of formation and include the first-known clear image of a young planet forming.
Why it matters: If confirmed through subsequent research, the discovery could teach researchers about how other planets, including ones in our solar system, formed.
