Record High
EDITOR’S NOTE
As carbon emissions rise, communities across the globe are dealing with increasingly severe and frequent bouts of extreme temperatures. Scientists have observed an eightfold increase in record-breaking hot months over the past decade, and at any given time, extreme heat is now affecting about one-tenth of the Earth’s land area. Some 8 million Americans were exposed to “extreme danger” temperatures last year alone, defined by the National Weather Service as a heat index of more than 125 degrees Fahrenheit. By 2053, that number is expected to rise to 107 million.
These scorching temperatures are impacting public health, drought, agriculture, infrastructure, equity, ecosystems, and much more. But there are also innovative solutions, policies, and technologies being tested to adapt to this hotter future. Follow Grist as it delves into all aspects of extreme heat — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Featured
How to build a heat-resilient city
Grist designed a model metropolis for an era of high temperatures, using the coolest technology available.
Extreme Heat Newsletter
Wall mounted air-conditioning units adorn a building in Hong Kong.
The heat gap
Hello, and welcome to the last issue of Record High. I’m Zoya Teirstein, and today, we’re going to talk about the elephant in the room: heat inequity.
In his book Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History, the physician and medical anthropologist Paul Farmer explains, unflinchingly, why the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak killed more than 11,000 Africans while almost every single Westerner who contracted the illness survived. The difference between life and death came down to, quite simply, access. In clinics in Guinea, Libera, and Sierra Leone, equipment and fluids that would have saved countless lives were nonexistent. A few simple interventions would have made all the difference. “How many of these deaths were caused more by the virulence of social conditions than by the virulence of the pathogen?” Farmer asked.
I was reminded of Farmer’s book recently while interviewing a researcher about an unrelated topic, a study on the temperature thresholds at which the human body can no longer keep itself cool. That researcher, a scientist at the University of Oxford, found that parts of the world have already become too hot for hum... Read more
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Extreme heat led to a Taylor Swift fan’s death in Brazil. Could it have been prevented?
In an era of rising heat waves, experts weigh in on how to plan for concerts and other large events safely.
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![A farmworker wears protective layers while harvesting produce in the summer heat]()
![A farmworker wears protective layers while harvesting produce in the summer heat]()
How Florida farmworkers are protecting themselves from extreme heat
Protecting the people who pick your food is as easy as giving them shade and water.
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Workers are dying from extreme heat. Why aren’t there laws to protect them?
“We’re asking for something so simple. Something that could save so many lives.”
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As heat-related deaths rise, a new program puts community clinics on the front lines
An initiative in Florida, Louisiana, and Arizona enlists clinicians to ensure resources go to the right places during heat waves.
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![A person in Brazil splashes water on their face to cool off during a heat wave.]()
![A person in Brazil splashes water on their face to cool off during a heat wave.]()
Earth just set another heat record — by the largest margin yet
The average temperature in September was "absolutely gobsmackingly bananas."
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How climate change is fueling alcohol-related hospitalizations
A new study in New York found that hospital visits from alcohol-related disorders spike along with temperatures.
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![A thermometer reads 42 degrees Celsius during a rare winter heat wave in Brazil.]()
![A thermometer reads 42 degrees Celsius during a rare winter heat wave in Brazil.]()
Winter just ended in South America. It’s 110 degrees.
The unseasonal heat in Brazil is bad news for the world's supply of coffee and soybeans.
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![A 1950s-era woman pointing an electric fan on her sweating armpits]()
![A 1950s-era woman pointing an electric fan on her sweating armpits]()
Why we need to sweat
This week's Record High newsletter looks at the science of sweating: It may be the pits, it’s the body's best defense against extreme heat.
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![illustration of person with hair in bun from behind, wiping large sweat droplets off the back of their neck]()
![illustration of person with hair in bun from behind, wiping large sweat droplets off the back of their neck]()
Will sweat help us survive climate change?
It's gross. It's sticky. And it's already saved your life.
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It’s not just coral. Extreme heat is weakening entire marine ecosystems in Florida.
Anemones, sponges, and jellyfish are bleaching throughout the Everglades amid record temperatures. It's a troubling sign for Florida Bay and beyond.
