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Climate Fix: 2023 Is Setting Global Heat Records. 2024 May Be Worse.

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Heat advisory sign in the dessert. The sky is blue and the desert is gray and brown with a mountain range in the background.
A heat advisory sign is shown along US highway 190 during a heat wave in Death Valley National Park in Death Valley, California, on July 16, 2023.  (Photo by RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

The month of July is on track to be the hottest month on record for planet Earth. Three continents are blistering under heat domes. In parts of California, temperatures have gone well above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Los Angeles Times reporter Hayley Smith experienced this firsthand during a reporting trip to Death Valley, where in one day she experienced 128 degrees — which only cooled to 116 degrees at night. California Governor Newsom set up efforts to educate the public about heat events; President Biden announced plans to help communities adapt. But will this be enough? As part of our “Climate Fix” series with the KQED Science team, we’ll talk about how our future is heating up and what can be done to cool our planet.

Guests:

Danielle Venton, science reporter, KQED News

Jeff Goodell, author, "The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on A Scorched Planet," "Big Coal," and "The Water Will Come;" Guggenheim Fellow; regular commentator on energy and climate issues, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets

Hayley Smith, reporter focusing on extreme weather, Los Angeles Times

Karen A. McKinnon, assistant professor, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Department of Statistics - McKinnon studies large-scale climate variability and change, with a particular focus on connections to high-impact weather events.

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