Latest Heat waves News

It's a bittersweet Easter for chocolate lovers and African cocoa farmers but big brands see profits

Mar. 28, 2024 03:09 AM EDT

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Shoppers may get a bitter surprise in their Easter baskets this year. Chocolate eggs and bunnies are more expensive than ever as changing climate patterns eat into global cocoa supplies and the earnings of farmers in West Africa. About three-quarters of the...

Schools to reopen in South Sudan after two weeks of extreme heat

Mar. 26, 2024 20:57 PM EDT

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan's government on Tuesday said schools will reopen next week following a two-week closure due to extreme heat across the country. The health and education ministries said temperatures were expected to steadily drop with the rainy season set to...

The ‘Taylor Swift effect’ aims to provide water during Brazil's life-threatening heat waves

Mar. 23, 2024 00:04 AM EDT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian climatologist Núbia Beray Armond for years had been sounding the alarm about Rio de Janeiro's need for an extreme heat plan including water distribution. Interest was tepid until a disastrous Taylor Swift concert — and now her phone won't stop ringing. ...

Drought pinched Louisiana's crawfish harvest, but mudbug fans are weathering the shortage

Mar. 22, 2024 19:18 PM EDT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In Jeff Pohlmann's 39 years of selling crawfish in Louisiana he has never seen the industry face such an abysmal shortage of “mudbugs.” Driven by last summer's drought, extreme heat, saltwater intrusion on the Mississippi River and a hard winter freeze,...

South Sudan shutters all schools as it prepares for an extreme heat wave

Mar. 17, 2024 22:22 PM EDT

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan is closing all schools starting Monday in preparation for an extreme heat wave expected to last two weeks. The health and education ministries advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45 degrees...

Oregon county plants trees to honor victims of killer 2021 heat wave

Mar. 17, 2024 20:36 PM EDT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Family members of some of the people killed by record-breaking heat in the Portland, Oregon, area three years ago gathered over the weekend to plant trees across Multnomah County in honor of its 72 victims. The event, coordinated by county and local officials...

Arizona's most populous county has confirmed 645 heat-associated deaths in metro Phoenix last year

Mar. 13, 2024 19:00 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Public health officials in Arizona’s most populous county on Wednesday reported they confirmed a staggering 645 heat-associated deaths last year — more than 50% higher than 2022 and another consecutive annual record in arid metro Phoenix. The numbers in the...

Europe is not prepared for the growing climate extremes it faces, its first risk assessment finds

Mar. 11, 2024 23:52 PM EDT

Europe is facing growing climate risks and is unprepared for them, the European Environment Agency said in its first-ever risk assessment for the bloc Monday. The agency said Europe is prone to more frequent and more punishing weather extremes — including increasing wildfires,...

Amid Louisiana's crawfish shortage, governor issues disaster declaration

Mar. 06, 2024 15:50 PM EST

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Amid a crawfish shortage in Louisiana, the nation’s top producer of the crustaceans that are a staple in Gulf Coast seafood boils, Gov. Jeff Landry issued a disaster declaration for the impacted industry Wednesday. Last year’s drought, extreme heat,...

Arizona's health department has named the first statewide heat officer to address extreme heat

Mar. 06, 2024 14:00 PM EST

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona's health department has named a physician to address ways to lessen the effects of extreme heat in the arid Southwestern state as the first statewide heat officer in the nation. Dr. Eugene Livar was appointed to the role under Gov. Katie Hobbs' extreme heat...