Weather
By Dan Stillman, Jennifer Samuel and Amanda Voisard | Jun 27, 2023
Extreme heat has run rampant across several parts of the world in recent weeks. Texas, northern Mexico, India and China are among the areas that have seen some of the most dangerous heat, with many days of temperatures reaching 100 to 120 degrees and the heat index climbing as high as 125 degrees.
Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
A vendor takes a water break at a wholesale flower market in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, on May 5.
Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg News
Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg News
The culprits are historically intense heat domes, or sprawling areas of high pressure that trap heat. The sinking air under high pressure prevents clouds from developing, and air warms as it sinks. Scientists say such intense heat domes are made more likely by climate change. Record warm ocean waters are contributing to the extreme heat as well.
Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg News
Air conditioner units at a building in Shanghai on Friday.
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg News
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg News
Much of the world is experiencing exceptionally warm air and sea temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization reported that “global-mean surface air temperatures for the first days of June 2023 were the highest — by a considerable margin — for the time of year” and that “global sea surface temperatures hit a new high in May for the second consecutive month and in June are tracking at unprecedented levels for this time of year.”
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg News
Climate scientists say that a developing El Niño could help make 2023 a record year for global warmth.
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg News
A man cools off at a park near Crawford, Tex., on June 16.
Waco Tribune-Herald/AP
Waco Tribune-Herald/AP
Contents
Texas
Much of Texas has been roasting in relentless heat for more than three weeks.Daytime high temperatures have routinely topped 100 degrees with heat indexes often near or over 110 degrees. Numerous daily and all-time temperature records have been set, including all-time record highs of 118 at Rio Grande Village; 117 at Falcon Lake; 116 at Cotulla; 115 at Del Rio, Cope Ranch and near Laredo; and 114 in San Angelo, according to data compiled by weather enthusiast Don Sutherland.
Waco Tribune-Herald/AP
A person rests in a field in Austin on Wednesday.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A worker takes a water break during an asphalt resurfacing job in Richardson, Tex., on June 20.
LM Otero/AP
LM Otero/AP
The humidity has made the blistering heat even more dangerous, lifting the heat index to a scorching 125 degrees in Corpus Christi, and to at least 116 degrees in McAllen for a record 10 days in a row.
LM Otero/AP
EMT William Dorsey lifts a migrant woman suffering from heat exhaustion onto a stretcher in the border community of Eagle Pass, Tex., on Monday.
Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters
Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters
A cyclist passes under power lines during an evening ride in San Antonio on Monday.
Eric Gay/AP
Eric Gay/AP
The heat dome responsible for the heat wave isn’t expected to weaken until late this weekend, which should finally allow temperatures to cool off a bit during the week of July Fourth.
Eric Gay/AP
Tzotzil Maya Indigenous people fill containers with water in Zinacantán, Chiapas, Mexico, on June 22.
Carlos López/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Carlos López/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Mexico
The heat dome causing Texas to sizzle is centered in northern Mexico, where it’s been even hotter than Texas. The searing heat prompted a rare state of emergency for the country’s electric grid last week as demand reached historic levels.
Carlos López/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A dried-up river during a heat wave in Ángel R. Cabada in Mexico’s Veracruz state on Saturday.
Hector Quintanar/Bloomberg News
Hector Quintanar/Bloomberg News
Hermosillo hit 120 degrees Sunday, while Ciudad Victoria set an all-time record high of 117 last week. Other temperature records noted by weather historian Maximiliano Herrera include Monclova reaching an all-time record high of 115 on three consecutive days, Torreón setting an all-time record high of 114, Nuevo Laredo tying its all-time record of 113 three days in a row, and Chihuahua climbing to an all-time record high of 108.
Hector Quintanar/Bloomberg News
People cool off in a river in Monterrey, Mexico, on June 15.
Daniel Becerril/Reuters
Daniel Becerril/Reuters
The ruins of the Church of Santiago Apostol in Tecpatan in Mexico’s Chiapas state are visible on June 19. A drought and heat wave have lowered the level of a reservoir and exposed the remains of the 16th-century church, according to La Prensa Latina, a news website.
Carlos Lopez/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Carlos Lopez/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The heat dome responsible for the ongoing Texas heat wave is one of the strongest of all time and “basically impossible” without climate change, tweeted Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist and climate specialist at WFLA-TV in Tampa.
Carlos Lopez/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A boy jumps into a canal in Jammu, India, on June 20.
Channi Anand/AP
Channi Anand/AP
India
A slow start to the monsoon season has led to a prolonged and punishing heat wave in India and nearby nations in recent weeks, reportedly causing nearly 100 deaths. Earlier in June, the Visakhapatnam Waltair airport recorded its hottest day ever with a high of 110 degrees, Herrera tweeted, while Mumbai and Dahanu set record highs for June of 101 and 103 degrees, respectively. In neighboring Nepal, Janakpur reached an all-time record high of 109.
Channi Anand/AP
Volunteers distribute beverages to commuters as part of a free service on a hot summer afternoon in New Delhi on May 23, 2023.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
People suffer from heat-related ailments in a crowded district hospital in Ballia in India’s Uttar Pradesh state on June 20.
Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
Mountain locations have suffered from extreme heat as well. At Chushot Yogma, about 3,200 meters above sea level, the temperature soared to 98 degrees in the past week, just shy of the highest temperature on record anywhere in the world higher than 3,000 meters above sea level, according to Herrera. Other mountain hot spots have recently included Khaltse (95 degrees), Thoise (92 degrees), Leh Airport (92 degrees) and Kargil (91 degrees).
Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
In Ballia on June 19, a villager mourns as he cremates the body of a relative who died of heat-related illnesses.
Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
The heat was expected to relent this week thanks to an increase in monsoon clouds and rain.
Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
People wear cooling patches on their foreheads in Beijing on June 17.
Mark R. Cristino
Mark R. Cristino
China
China is in the midst of a weeks-long extreme heat wave that has broken numerous records during June, after Shanghai had its hottest May in over 100 years. Last week, Beijing and Tianjin for the first time recorded three consecutive days with a temperature exceeding 104 degrees. With a high temperature of 106 degrees, Thursday was Beijing’s second-hottest day on record and its hottest June day ever, the Associated Press reported.
Mark R. Cristino
A woman uses an umbrella to protect herself from the sun in Beijing on Friday.
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
All-time record highs recorded earlier in June include 117 degrees at Aidinghu, 116 degrees at Toksun and 114 degrees at Turpan, according to climate specialist Jim Yang. Herrera listed a number of cities that had their hottest day on record including Dagang, Zhanhua, Tianjin and Gu’an, which all reached near 107 degrees.
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
People wear head coverings during the heat wave in Beijing on Friday.
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
The historic heat wave, which meteorologists attribute to a heat dome and say is enhanced by long daylight hours, has been felt across much of Southeast Asia including Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines.
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
Workers oversee the inflation of one of two large yellow ducks in Hong Kong on June 12. It was deflated on June 10 to protect it from the summer heat.
Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images
Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images
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Credits
Photo Editing and Production by Amanda Voisard and Jennifer Samuel