The West is burning, and it’s barely July

The heat is breaking temperature records coast-to-coast, drought covers half of the country, and — sure enough — wildfires are already enveloping the West. More than 30 large fires are burning in 12 states right now. In Utah, dozens of homes have been destroyed and hundreds more are threatened from a largely out-of-control blaze in the eastern part of the state. In Colorado, some of the largest fires in state history have already drawn comparisons to the nightmare fire seasons of 1988 and 2002. https://grist.org/article/the-west-is-burning-and-its-barely-july/?utm_content=buffer59dc0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week

This article, originally published Tuesday, was updated Wednesday to add all-time heat records at Mount Washington, N.H., and Tbilisi, Georgia set since Monday.) From the normally mild summer climes of Ireland, Scotland and Canada to the scorching Middle East, numerous locations in the Northern Hemisphere have witnessed their hottest weather ever recorded over the past week. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/07/03/hot-planet-all-time-heat-records-have-been-set-all-over-the-world-in-last-week/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fcdfc8101f32

Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Set New Record

In April of this year, the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii recorded an average concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide above 410 parts per million (ppm). This was the highest monthly average in recorded history, and in fact according to ice core records it is the highest value in at least 800,000 years. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/06/29/global-carbon-dioxide-emissions-set-new-record/#6403c8e443a9

Climate change has turned Peru's glacial lake into a deadly flood timebomb

Lake Palcacocha is swollen with water from melting ice caps in the Cordillera Blanca mountains. Below, 50,000 people live directly in the flood path https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/29/climate-change-has-turned-perus-glacial-lake-into-a-deadly-flood-timebomb?CMP=share_btn_fb

Heatwave melted roads in Ireland and the U.K.

Roads melted “like chocolate” across the U.K. and Ireland this week as a heatwave blasted the area. Photos posted to social media by drivers and government agencies depicted the damage caused by surface temperatures reaching 125 degrees. Roadworks authorities were planning to spread light-colored sand on the worst-affected stretches to act as both a sunscreen and to help stabilize the liquefying bitumen, which can be a hazard for drivers, SWNS reports. http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2018/06/29/heatwave-melted-roads-in-ireland-and-u-k.html