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
All stories
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![Olive trees stand on a parched landscape during a drought in Spain.]()
![Olive trees stand on a parched landscape during a drought in Spain.]()
Climate change is coming for your olive oil, too
Heatflation has doubled the price of olive oil over the past year.
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![A man wipes sweat from his face in a park in Chicago where temperatures hit 99 degrees]()
![A man wipes sweat from his face in a park in Chicago where temperatures hit 99 degrees]()
As Chicago broils, neighbors find ways to keep each other cool
"We’ll be back out there tomorrow doing the same thing.”
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UPS workers win wage increases, AC in new union contract
"This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide."
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![People inside a cooling center in Portland, Oregon]()
![People inside a cooling center in Portland, Oregon]()
Why cooling centers sit empty
Lack of information, poor transit access, and plain old boredom keep people away from public cooling facilities.
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![Cows graze among olive trees on a farm in Texas.]()
![Cows graze among olive trees on a farm in Texas.]()
Livestock are dying in the heat. This little-known farming method offers a solution.
Silvopasture could make for healthier soil — and keep cattle alive during sweltering summers.
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![President Joe Biden, wearing a ball cap and sunglasses, speaks at a lectern outdoors.]()
![President Joe Biden, wearing a ball cap and sunglasses, speaks at a lectern outdoors.]()
What it might look like if President Biden really declared a climate emergency
Activists say nothing short of an emergency declaration will address deadly heat — and the fossil fuel dependency driving it.
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![A fishing boat is surrounded by a flock of birds on the sea beneath an orange sky at sunset]()
![A fishing boat is surrounded by a flock of birds on the sea beneath an orange sky at sunset]()
The ocean is shattering heat records. Here’s what that means for fisheries.
Marine heatwaves can "inject a lot of chaos" as they remake ecosystems and cost coastal economies billions.
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How doctors treat extreme heat
Inside a Phoenix emergency room as temperatures rise and admissions spike.
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![Illustration of older man sitting beside empty chair within bright orange circle]()
![Illustration of older man sitting beside empty chair within bright orange circle]()
A crisis of isolation is making heat waves more deadly
As extreme heat worsens, cities are exploring ways to reach isolated individuals before it’s too late.
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In Phoenix, emergency room doctors confront the dangers of extreme heat
“Our burn unit is very, very busy."
