Currently in NYC — July 18, 2023: Very humid with some storms

The weather, currently.

We continue with the horrendously humid weather on Tuesday. Temperatures will climb near 90°F again with the humidity making it feel like “I wonder if I could fit in my freezer.” Sunshine and clouds will take turns in the sky until some showers and thunderstorms steal the show in the afternoon. If you see a storm, it could produce heavy rainfall and strong winds. The threat of storms continues into the evening before dissipating overnight. Enjoy your day!

Bike Forecast:

5 out of 10

— Stacy Blundell

What you can do, currently.

The climate emergency doesn’t take the summer off. In fact — as we’ve been reporting — we’re heading into an El Niño that could challenge historical records and is already supercharging weather and climate impacts around the world.

When people understand the weather they are experiencing is caused by climate change it creates a more compelling call to action to do something about it.

If these emails mean something important to you — and more importantly, if the idea of being part of a community that’s building a weather service for the climate emergency means something important to you — please chip in just $5 a month to continue making this service possible.

Thank you!!

What you need to know, currently.

Shortly after midnight on Monday morning it was still a whopping 120°F (48.9°C) at Death Valley in California — the hottest early morning temperature reading in world history.

Here’s what the raw data looked like:

Even though this may not make global headlines, this feels to me like a major global milestone. Public health studies show that excessively hot overnight temperatures cause high death tolls during major heat waves, especially when overnight temperatures fail to fall below 90°F (32.2°C). The human body requires rest at night to recover, especially when subjected to high stress of record heat. Climate change — specifically the added humidity in the air due to increased evaporation rates — causes overnight temperatures to rise at a faster rate than daytime temperatures, worsening this trend.

—Eric Holthaus