Thursday, 30 July 2026Clear-eyed news, from daybreak on.
DaybreakWire
Independent news, around the clock
Topic

Extreme heat

NASA satellite thermal image comparing the urban heat island intensity of Buffalo, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island, color-coded from blue (cooler) to yellow (hotter)

Why Nighttime Heat Is Rising Faster Than Daytime Highs in US Cities

Cities don't just run hotter than the countryside — they stay hotter after dark, and the nighttime gap is often wider than the daytime one.

Climate  · 26 Jul 2026, 09:22  · Maya Calder
A sling psychrometer with its cloth-wrapped wet-bulb thermometer alongside a standard dry-bulb thermometer, the classic instrument used to measure wet-bulb temperature by evaporative cooling.

Wet-Bulb Temperature vs. Heat Index: What Actually Predicts Danger

Wet-bulb temperature measures the limit of evaporative cooling, not just how hot and humid it feels. Here is why the number matters more than the thermometer reading.

Climate  · 22 Jul 2026, 04:10  · Maya Calder
A technician repairs an outdoor air conditioning unit during record heat in Austin, Texas.

Why Your AC Can't Keep Up When It's 100 Degrees Outside

A central AC running flat out at 79 degrees on a 99-degree afternoon is usually doing exactly what it was engineered to do. The symptom that actually signals a fault is different, and easy to miss.

Climate  · 9 Jul 2026, 09:30  · Maya Calder
A blazing summer sun over parched ground during a heat wave.

What Is a Heat Dome, and Why Is It So Dangerous?

A heat dome is the stalled high-pressure lid behind record-breaking heat waves. Here is how it forms, why humidity makes it deadly, and how long it lasts.

Climate  · 7 Jul 2026, 09:28  · Maya Calder
Fans cool off during a World Cup match at Philadelphia Stadium as a major heat wave grips the East Coast.

Heat Dome Threatens Record Highs From D.C. to New York by July 4

More than 165 million Americans face major or extreme heat risk this week as a record-threatening heat dome settles over the East Coast and Midwest through the July Fourth weekend — and complicates World Cup matches.

Climate  · 2 Jul 2026, 09:23  · Maya Calder
A woman uses a hand fan on a bridge over the Seine in central Paris during the June 2026 heatwave.

France's Grid Buckles in the Heat as 68,000 Lose Power

A heat-stressed transformer failure in Brittany cut power to tens of thousands of homes as France logged its hottest day on record and Europe's heatwave spread north.

Climate  · 24 Jun 2026, 09:23  · Maya Calder
A person shelters under an umbrella along the banks of the River Seine in Paris during the June 2026 heatwave.

France: 40 Drown as Hottest Night on Record Grips Europe

Forty people have drowned trying to cool off, two small children died in a hot car, and France just recorded its warmest night on record. The heat is now a body count, not a forecast.

Climate  · 23 Jun 2026, 13:17  · Maya Calder
Western Europe is gripped by an intense heatwave in June 2026.

Red alerts spread across France as Europe's heatwave peaks

Spain braces for 44C, France curbs festival drinking and Britain faces its hottest June day on record as the heat builds toward a Monday peak.

Climate  · 21 Jun 2026, 18:09  · Maya Calder