Extreme heat waves broiling the US in 2024 aren’t normal: How climate change is heating up weather around the world

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Mathew Barlow, UMass Lowell and Jeffrey Basara, UMass Lowell

(THE CONVERSATION) Less than a month into summer 2024, the vast majority of the U.S. population has already experienced an extreme heat wave. Millions of people were under heat warnings across the western U.S. in early July or sweating through humid heat in the East.

Death Valley hit a dangerous 129 degrees Fahrenheit (53.9 C) on July 7, a day after a motorcyclist died from heat exposure there. Las Vegas broke its all-time heat record at 120 F (48.9 C). In California, days of over-100-degree heat in large parts of the state dried out the landscape, fueling wildfires. Oregon reported several suspected heat deaths.

Extreme heat like this has been hitting countries across the planet in 2024.

Globally, each of the...