Texans are not the only ones feeling the heat this summer.
Weather officials are cataloging heat waves affecting multiple portions of the globe simultaneously. As a result, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is calling this year’s season a “summer of extremes.”
The WMO announced on Tuesday that multiple concurrent heat waves are impacting large sections of the Northern Hemisphere. The organization noted that areas such as the Mediterranean, Asia, the southern United States, and North Africa are enduring “parallel and stationary heat domes.”
In terms of the United States, the organization reported that a widespread heat wave is already intensifying across the southern portion of the nation.
While Texas has been enduring “oppressive” temperatures, other states like California, southern Nevada, and Arizona have also seen heat indices rise as high as 110 degrees.
These weather patterns are not expected to change anytime soon.
Much of the planet is experiencing similar — and in some cases, worse — conditions.
The China Meteorological Association announced that Turpan City in China’s Xinjiang province had achieved a new national record on Sunday, reaching a temperature of nearly 126 degrees.
In addition, nations such as Spain and Italy have issued red alerts for their increased temperatures ranging from 104 to 107 degrees in portions of each country.
France also recorded temperatures rising to 104 on Tuesday, surpassing its all-time record of 98 in August 2012.
The National Weather Service attributes these high heat indices and increased humidity to “Unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico and in the western Atlantic Ocean,” according to the WMO.
Dr. Omar Baddour, chief of climate monitoring at the WMO, pointed to global warming and the current El Niño weather pattern as two possible drivers behind these increased temperatures.
“The exceptionally high temperatures in subtropical regions constitute the prime meteorological origin of the extended heat wave over the Mediterranean,” said Baddour, according to the WMO. “The signature of the ongoing El Niño and climate change in the extent of this event needs more data and analysis.”
Petteri Taalas, secretary-general for the WMO, said that these weather patterns should be understood as the “new normal” and that efforts are being made to improve warning systems.
“The extreme weather — an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate — is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy, and water supplies,” said Taalas.
Back in the United States, excessive heat is expected to persist across the North Texas region. Residents are advised to continue practicing heat safety.
