In mid-March, a record-shattering heat dome engulfed the western United States, sending summer-like temperatures high into the mountains. What little snowpack remained after an unusually warm, dry winter melted out early, setting the stage for drought and wildfire this summer.
This event represents a new kind of heatwave made possible only by climate change. In the western U.S., heatwaves that occur in the spring and early summer have nearly doubled in frequency and intensity since the mid-1990s, and scientists are confident that global warming has driven the underlying shift in heatwave timing, strength, and frequency.
In a study published…
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