📈 Chartpack: The global heatwave

How hot has this summer been, and how has it felt in cities?

Midway upon the journey of our life

I found myself within a forest dark,

For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

[Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto 1]

Hi,

Chantal Smith

here. I was born at 363.48 ppm.¹ My mother was born at 320.23 ppm. My grandmother was born at 310.6 ppm. Today, we are at 416.43 ppm. That’s very close to the 450 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that will push global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels. But what do these abstract numbers actually mean? How do they feel?

The global heatwave this summer underscores the harsh reality of accelerating climate change, so we decided to dedicate this week’s Chartpack to it. We’ll look at exactly how hot this summer has been so far, and how the scorching heat has been felt by people around the world.