The Heat: Extreme weather

The Heat

Nathan King

Nathan King

Featured Video Play IconPeople block the sunlight with their hands on a street amid a heatwave warning in Shanghai, China July 23, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song
Published August 20, 2022 at 4:25 PM

Climate scientists say the frequency and intensity of extreme weather is going to get much worse in the coming years. This summer has already proved unrelenting. China is facing a heat wave that’s impacted the country for more than two months, from central Sichuan Province to coastal Jiangsu. In some areas, temperatures have exceeded 40-degrees Celsius. Drought in the western United States has impacted the Colorado River which supplies drinking water to seven states and Mexico. The river’s two main reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are now nearly three-fourths empty and water levels are expected to keep dropping. And in Europe, waves of extreme heat and drought have produced devastating wildfires. In Spain, firefighters were forced to make a run for it, when flames came too close to homes outside a village.

Joining the discussion:

  • Michael K. Dorsey is a recognized expert on global energy, finance and sustainability and member of the Club of Rome.
  • Jeff Masters is writer on extreme weather and climate change for Yale Climate Connections.
  • Char Miller is the Director of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College.
  • Changhua Wu is the CEO of the Beijing Future Innovation Center.

For more: