Tornado Alley (PROG)

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US Southwest

An early summer heat wave brought exceptional warmth to the Southwest in June 2024. On June 6 and 7, high temperatures broke calendar-day records in several communities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.

The event began with a heat dome that baked Mexico for most of May and shattered heat records there. By early June, the start of meteorological summer, the sweltering temperatures had expanded northward into the U.S. at the same time as a low-pressure blocking system set up in the Pacific Ocean.

https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/heat-scorches-us-southwest-152914/

Siberia

In the first six months of 2020, Siberia experienced a period of unusually high temperatures, including a record-breaking 38 degrees C in the town of Verkhoyansk on 20 June, causing wide-scale impacts including wildfires, loss of permafrost, and an invasion of pests.

https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/siberian-heatwave-of-2020-almost-impossible-without-climate-change/

US Northwest.... Europe... Siberia

While record-breaking heat scorched the Pacific Northwest in June 2021, parts of Europe and Siberia also saw early-summer temperatures climb.

One of the hot spots parked over central and eastern Europe. On June 23, ground stations in Moscow measured an air temperature of 34.8°C (94.6°F)—the city’s hottest June temperature on record. Helsinki, Finland, also saw its hottest June day on record (31.7°C/89.1°F), and national records for the month were set in Belarus (35.7°C/96.3°F) and Estonia (34.6°C/94.3°F).

https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/a-scorcher-in-siberia-and-europe-148525/
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It’s hard to forget the excruciating heat that blanketed the Pacific Northwest in late June 2021. Temperatures in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia soared to well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with Seattle setting an all-time heat record of 108 degrees on June 28.

During the heat wave, also called a heat dome, scientists and community members alike noticed a disturbing uptick of dying and dead shellfish on some beaches in Washington and British Columbia, both in the Salish Sea and along the outer coast. The observers quickly realized they were living through an unprecedented event and they organized to document the shellfish die-offs as they happened in real time.

https://www.washington.edu/news/2022/06/21/2021-heat-wave-perfect-storm-shellfish-die-off/

India

From May 26th to May 29th, large parts of northern India and southern Pakistan suffered a severe heatwave, with a provisional record temperature of 49.1°C registered in New Delhi. More than 37 cities in the country recorded temperatures over 45°C. Warnings of heat-related illnesses have been issued, with at least 56 casualties and 25000 suspected heat stroke cases. There were initial reports of a temperature recording of 53.2°C, that were later adjusted due to a faulty sensor. Yet, the heatwave in India and southern Pakistan exhibited record-high temperatures, ranging from 45.2C to 49.1C in different parts of New Delhi. The city's authorities have warned they will issue fines to those caught wasting water as the city deals with shortages, and supplies have been cut to some areas. Water minister Atishi announced that 200 teams would be deployed to crack down on people washing their cars with hose pipes and letting their tanks overflow. New Delhi power demand has soared to an all-time high, with residents turning to air conditioning, coolers, and ceiling fans to cope with the heat.

https://www.climameter.org/20240526-29-india-heatwave

Gulf of Maine

What was once a startling observation among our team of ecosystem modelers is now common knowledge: over the course of a decade, the Gulf of Maine warmed faster than 99% of the global ocean.

In the time since, several studies have investigated the impact of this rapid warming on key commercial species such as cod and lobsters.

https://gmri.org/stories/gulf-maine-explained-warming-gulf-maine/

Gulf of Mexico

It may seem like record setting temperatures are becoming a common occurrence these days, but these sea surface temperatures are alarming. According to Brian McNoldy, a climatologist at the University of Miami, the Gulf is currently the hottest it has ever been in the modern record. Recent measurements show the surface temperature nearing 90 degrees Fahrenheit, making a dip in the water feel more like stepping into a bath.

https://www.theclimateadaptationcenter.org/2024/08/23/the-gulf-of-mexico-has-reached-alarmingly-high-temperatures/

Desertification: Europe is drying out
Victor Castillo, María José Sanz Sánchez
Soil Atlas 2024

While desertification is a problem most commonly associated with Africa or Asia, it is not limited to these regions. Intensive agriculture and the climate crisis have also led to severe soil degradation and desertification in Europe. And not just in southern Europe: even countries with temperate and humid climates, such as Hungary and Bulgaria, are affected.

https://eu.boell.org/en/SoilAtlas-desertification

But it's chilly at your house, and you're really fucking ignorant of anything beyond your own yard, so the rest of the world doesn't actually exist.