Monitoring the planet's climate this summer can give one the impression that the climate system — which includes the oceans, atmosphere, ice sheets and more — has gone off the rails.
Why it matters: The blitz of extreme weather events is posing dangers to life and infrastructure, and exposing our vulnerabilities even at today's relatively modest level of warming, about 1.2°C (2.16°F) above preindustrial levels.
A firefighter has died after fighting a wildfire in Canada's Northwest Territories — two days after a 19-year-old firefighter was killed while responding to a fire in British Columbia, officials said Sunday.
The heat wave affecting more than 112 million people in at least 17 states is poised to peak this weekend into early next week in the Southwest. But there are growing signs it will merely ebb and re-intensify as the month continues.
Why it matters: The heat is so severe and persistent that it is a deadly threat, even in typically hot locations across the Southwest and West.
