It’s all but certain that 2024 will be Earth’s warmest year on record, surpassing 2023 as the previous record holder. While this troubling milestone measures global average temperatures, a new study from the Columbia Climate School found that unexplained extreme heat wave hot spots are popping up in specific areas worldwide. Calling it “a striking new phenomenon,” the study’s authors write, “Distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain.” According to the study, “The large and unexpected margins by which recent regional-scale extremes have broken earlier records have raised questions about the degree to which climate models can provide adequate estimates of relations between global mean temperature changes and regional climate risks.”

Other climate change article:

• The Hill: Arctic could see its first ice-free day before the end of the decade: Study