Climate Central:
Ongoing Heat Wave in U.S. Rivals Events of Dust Bowl Era: During the past 30 days, a stunning 6,439 warm temperature records were set or tied in the Lower 48 states, including 240 all-time warm temperature records. For the year-to-date, warm temperature records have been outpacing cold temperature records by a lopsided 7-to-1 margin.
In a long-term trend that demonstrates the effects of a warming climate, daily record-high temperatures have recently been outpacing daily record lows by an average of 2-to-1, and this imbalance is expected to grow as the climate continues to warm. According to a 2009 study, if the climate were not warming, this ratio would be expected to be even. Other studies have shown that global warming increases the odds of extreme heat events and may make them warmer and longer lasting.
The individual records set during the ongoing heat wave tell the story of how unusual this event has been so far…
