Summer is only beginning, but many parts of the world already have some brutal heat.
In the last fortnight, many parts of the United States, Europe and China have been hit by extreme heat waves that are threatening human life, increasing the risk of wildfire, and testing the limits of the power grid.
Roads caved in in Minnesota with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit earlier in the week and smashed car windows.
Thousands of livestock have died in Kansas.
“Heat wave” is more or less a technical term for temperatures that stay much hotter than the local average for at least two days, according to the National Weather Service.
What is most alarming, according to climate professionals, is that these events occur earlier in the year at a time when people, cities and the infrastructure on which they rely may not be prepared for extreme heat.
