"Reuters conducted a data-driven examination of global temperatures that shows heat waves have surged in size and frequency since the 1960s. These are the key takeaways."
"Heat waves have evolved from sporadic, isolated episodes to massive, cascading weather events that can blanket vast swaths of the planet for months or even years at a time.
To continue calling such sprawling phenomena “heat waves” would be like calling a monsoon a rain shower. To understand the new reality of these immense expanses of heat, Reuters consulted with two dozen climate researchers and analyzed temperatures around the globe for every hour of every day since 1960. From those results, we developed a new concept: the “heat storm.”
Scientists and researchers often discuss global warming in the context of risks that will arise if the planet’s average global temperature rises more than 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels. What is an ordinary person to make of that? Not much.
Heat waves are the connective tissue between the science of global warming and our everyday experience.
But supersized heat waves used to be rare. No longer. Now they swarm the planet."
Maurice Tamman reports for Reuters October 20, 2026.
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