While it seems like our liberties, our freedom here in the United States appears to be increasingly restricted, we still have some freedom of speech, don't we? And while Trump and his cronies seem to get particularly incensed whenever climate change/global warming is mentioned, to the point where they are actively trying to silence any discussion, we still should talk about it. Regardless of how much Trump and his followers deny it, the signs that it is real are everywhere. Here in the northeastern United States, we are entering yet another massive heatwave, with high humidity. It is not the first or the second so far this summer, and the heat has been particularly unpleasant because of that humidity. It just feels sticky and gross almost as soon as you step outside during the daytime.
It is not the first heatwave here in North America, nor is it the only region experiencing oppressively hot weather conditions or other unusual weather conditions. According to a Newsweek article by Emma Marsden (see link below):
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued heat advisories and extreme heat warnings for parts of Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Texas, and Oklahoma as a dangerous heat wave persists through the weekend and into next week.
Plus, Wisconsin recently saw a record rainfall which saw massive flooding around Milwaukee this weekend. Here is a summary of that by Scott Bauer of the Associated Press (see link below):
The Milwaukee area began drying out Monday after weekend rain hit unofficial records in Wisconsin of more than 14 inches (36 centimeters) in less than 24 hours, leading multiple rivers to flood at record-high levels, washing out vehicles, flooding basements and cutting power to thousands of homes.
Over a foot of rain in 24 hours. That's just not normal. When you couple that with the massive floods seen recently in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, as well as the frightening and deadly flooding in Texas, plus the wildfires in Canada which are impacting air quality in much of the northern United States, you might start to feel like we here in North America are truly experiencing severe and unusual weather conditions this summer. Except that these things also feel like they are becoming more of the norm in recent years.
Meanwhile, Europe is still suffering through another heat wave, which also marks multiple times this summer. The worst heat is being felt in Seville, Spain, which is supposed to see 44 Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) degree heat.
Here is a summary taken from an article by Marko Korosec of Severe Weather Europe (see link below):
Rapid warming is underway from southern to western and central Europe as a Heat Dome strengthens over the continent. A new, long-lasting heatwave is forecast to engulf much of Europe, with locally challenging August temperatures breaking historical records. Over the next 10 days, a powerful ridge will push temps into the low 40s across many European countries.
That's a long heatwave, and it is ushering in extremely hot, uncomfortable, and even potentially dangerous temperatures over a huge swatch of land, from northern Africa to all across Europe. It's causing now problems which used to be a rarity in Europe, but have become sadly familiar in recent decades. Here's a bit more from the same article:
Extreme, scorching heat will also worsen ongoing drought conditions across Iberia, central, southern, and partly western Europe, where recent devastating and historic wildfires have been ongoing in south France, the west Iberian peninsula, Greece, and Turkey.
A major Heat Dome is building up over a large part of Europe this week and will remain strong throughout the new week, lasting into mid-August. Over time, the excessive heat will spread north and east, reaching the UK and Benelux, to Slovakia, Ukraine, and Poland on the east. The following video shares the evolution of weather patterns over the next two weeks.
Another summary by a Met spokesperson, taken from an article by Byrony Gooch of MSN.com (see link below):
Met Office spokesperson, Stephen Dixon, said: “A heatwave over northwest Africa and Iberia will spread further northeast, bringing temperatures well above average for Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium and other parts of Europe. This will spread northeast over the next 4-5 days, reaching places like France and Germany later in the week.
Record droughts in Europe seem to also becoming something of the new normal. That for a continent that was famous for being rainy in numerous regions, particularly northern countries like Britain and France. This is sad.
Meanwhile, Asia just endured a series of extreme weather events, which includes a record heatwave. Here is a summary, according to an article by Koh Ewe and Helen Willetts of BBC News (see link below):
While torrential rains lash China, Pakistan and parts of India, sweltering heat has enveloped Japan and South Korea as extreme weather claims hundreds of lives in the region.
Climate change has made weather extremities more intense, frequent and unpredictable, scientists say.
This pattern is especially pronounced in Asia, which according to the World Meteorological Organization is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average.
All of that wound up being quite costly, too. Maybe news like this is what it will take for more people to take notice of climate change enough to take action. Here is a summary, according to the same article:
The region has lost $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion) to extreme weather – from floods to heatwaves and droughts – over the past three decades, according to the annual Climate Risk Index survey.
Japan marked the hottest day on record last week on Tuesday, with 41.8C (107F) registered in Isesaki city, Gunma prefecture. South Korea also saw a new record established with 22 consecutive nights with temperatures exceeding 25 degrees Celsius. Vietnam is also baking and seeing records set, as Hanoi broke 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in recorded history.
Yet in China, the problem was record flooding in much of the country, from Beijing to Shanghai to Hong Kong. Remember, China is an enormous country, larger than the United States, and Beijing and Hong Kong are a considerably long distance away from one another (over 1,900 kilometers). The has apparently become the wettest month of August on record for Hong Kong, and the month is not even half over. So that's a lot of serious rainfall and flooding over a huge part of the country.
Plus, hundreds of people have disappeared in India and Pakistan as a result of heavy flooding, as well.
Are we Americans still going to simply allow our "Dear Leader" to declare that climate change/global warming is all just a Chinese hoax? Is it time to grow up and have a serious conversation about this yet? Or are we going to continue to pretend that this is not all that out of the ordinary?
Below are the links to the numerous articles used in writing this particular blog entries. All of the summaries and quotes used above are from these sources:
Millions of Americans Warned to Stay out of the Sun in 8 States by Emma Marsden, Freelance News Reporter Published Aug 10, 2025 at 8:58 AM EDT Updated Aug 11, 2025:
https://www.newsweek.com/millions-americans-warned-stay-out-sun-8-states-2111360
‘What is happening?’ Milwaukee area recovers from record rain and flooding by Scott Bauer, August 11, 2025:
https://apnews.com/article/weather-wisconsin-flooding-rain-8a80cc7bb23be849ca4eeb088fa6165d
An extensive heatwave develops as the Heat Dome expands over Europe; extreme heat through mid-August is forecast By AuthorMarko Korosec Posted onPublished: 10/08/2025:
https://www.severe-weather.eu/global-weather/european-heat-dome-extreme-heatwave-europe-august-2025-mk/
France and Spain hit by red weather warnings as Europe burns in 44C heatwave Story by Bryony Gooch • August 12, 2025:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/france-and-spain-hit-by-red-weather-warnings-as-europe-burns-in-44c-heatwave/ar-AA1KjBZA
From heatwaves to floods: Extreme weather sweeps across Asia by Koh Ewe BBC News, Singapore Helen Willetts Lead Weather Presenter, August 7, 2025:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qyw1r502go
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