2023 Western North America heat wave

2023 Western North America heat wave
AreasWestern North America
Start dateMay 2023
Losses
Deaths995
  • 112 (Mexico)[1]
  • 883 (United States)[2]

Starting in May 2023, a heat wave affected Western North America. The heat wave entailed wildfires in Alberta, record temperatures across Canada and the US, and over 100 deaths in Mexico. The heat also accelerated snow melt in mountain ranges, causing flooding and mudslides. According to scientists, climate change increased the strength of the 2023 heatwaves including in North America.[3][4][5]

Geographic extent of warming: Average temperatures in almost all regions in the U.S. have increased in the last 120 years.[6]
In recent decades in the U.S., the percentage of record high daily temperatures has predominated over record daily low temperatures, with record daily highs now more than twice that of record daily lows.[7]
  1. ^ "Mexico: Heat wave claims over 100 lives – DW – 06/30/2023". dw.com.
  2. ^ "Deadly heatwave envelops Mexico and southern US". www.aljazeera.com.
  3. ^ "Extreme heat in North America, Europe and China in July 2023 made much more likely by climate change". World Weather Attribution. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  4. ^ "July 2023 Is Hottest Month Ever Recorded on Earth". Scientific American. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  5. ^ IGINI, MARTINA. "More than 80% of People on Earth Experienced a Hotter July Triggered by Climate Change: Report". Earth.Org. Climate central. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  6. ^ "Climate Change Indicators: U.S. and Global Temperature". EPA.gov. Environmental Protection Agency. 2021. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. (FIg. 3) EPA's data source: NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). 2021. Climate at a glance. Accessed February 2021. www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag. (Direct link to graphic; archive)
  7. ^ "United States - Records Set By Decade". ClimateCentral.org. Climate Central. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. (Related chart in source, and archive thereof). Climate Central credits "Guy Walton and NOAA/NCEI" for data.