For most people, summer is synonymous with heat waves. But this summer’s heat has broken records for temperatures and duration. As of late July, Texas had experienced highs over 100° Fahrenheit for more than 30 days straight. China posted its highest temperature ever recorded, and Europe’s heat may surpass last year’s onslaught, when more than 60,000 people may have died due to excessive heat.
The dry, hot weather in Canada fueled wildfires from coast to coast, and the smoke spread south, covering the Midwest and East Coast. It was the first time many people had ever experienced dangerous air pollution caused by wildfires. This is a problem that has become very familiar in western United States.
Scientists know this Smoke from wildfires can cause harm to the human body, staff writer Meghan Rosen reports. The tiny particles that can lodge in the lungs and smoke containing chemicals such as formaldehyde or benzene are of great concern. But researchers don’t yet know the long-term effects of being exposed to wildfire smoke intermittently over many years and are now focused on answering that question.
Northern Hemisphere Climate change amplified ocean warming is causing heat waves plus the return of a natural climate cycle called El Niño, staff writer Nikk Ogasa reports. Jet streams that meander have also accumulated hot air.
Carolyn Gramling and I, Rosen Ogasa as well as earth and climate writers Carolyn Gramling asked me the same question. Science NewsSince a few decades, I have asked: Will this be the year when climate change affects the most vulnerable?
When it comes to human capacity to withstand extreme heat and high humidity, “there’s this grim feeling like we’re pushing the limit, except we don’t know what the limit is,” Gramling said. She reported that last summer Human heat tolerance is lower than previously thought (SN: 8/27/22, p. 6). Ogasa confirmed that people are talking about and thinking more of it. And he’s adapting himself, going for runs when it’s least humid. Gramling also noted that there’s been a decrease in the number of people saying that climate change doesn’t exist. “People are considering things now that maybe they were less open to before.”
I asked these reporters what questions on climate change and health they’d like to dig into next.
Rosen: “I’d like to know more about how heat and wildfire smoke may affect a developing fetus. Are there particular windows of pregnancy where it’s especially dangerous for someone to be inhaling smoke, or living through a heat wave?”
Ogasa: “I’m curious about how we’re going to reckon with the growing need for cooling. Many places are becoming unlivable. How do we deal with that growing energy demand, what alternatives are there for people who can’t get traditional AC and in which climates do those alternatives work?”
Gramling: “I’m definitely interested in the limit of human heat tolerance. What even is adaptation?” As we all travel into what feels like uncharted territory, we’ll keep reporting on big questions about climate change, like how much people can adapt and the technological advances that may make a difference.
