Good morning. As Britain prepares to flood to the pubs and the parks to enjoy the blue, cloudless skies and catch some rays, it’s hard to ignore the troubling implications of heatwaves that constantly break records. The problem isn’t that yesterday was the hottest day of the year, or that today looks like being, too: the problem is that days like these used to be rare, and now they aren’t.
The pattern of this week’s weather is being repeated in many parts of the world, but the outcomes can be significantly more extreme: in the US extreme heat is the leading cause of weather related death. It’s also having a deadly effect on livestock in Kansas, one of the country’s top three producers of beef, as the state reports 2,000 cattle dead. And the climate crisis will only continue exacerbate the sweltering temperatures, and make them come more often. Below, Archie Bland and I take a look at the impacts of extreme heat on five different cities. First though, the headlines.
Five big stories
Economy | The Bank of England has raised interest rates to 1.25% to tackle inflation and the cost of living crisis, the fifth month in a row the bank has raised the rate.
Conservatives | Boris Johnson is considering scrapping the role of ethics adviser after the resignation of Lord Geidt from the role. The PM’s spokesperson said Johnson would not immediately start looking for a replacement, but would instead review the system of enforcing the ministerial code.
Brazil | The family of Dom Phillips have spoken of their heartbreak over the murder of the British journalist and the Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira as colleagues said the men’s work would be an inspiration to others.
Gymnastics | British Gymnastics enabled a culture where young gymnasts were starved, body shamed and abused in a system that ruthlessly put the pursuit of medals over the protection of children, a devastating report has found.
Espionage | A Russian spy tried and failed to secure an internship at the international criminal court (ICC) using the false identity of a Brazilian citizen that he had built up over more than a decade, Dutch intelligence said. Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov is accused of being an agent of Russia’s GRU.
In depth: From Arizona to Pakistan, humans are feeling the heat
With every passing year, understanding the effect of extreme heat becomes more relevant to more people. Researchers who used to focus on the victims of nuclear power station disasters or distance runners in the Sahara are now shifting to ordinary people in previously temperate environments; the BBC is running explainers on ways to stay safe in extreme hot weather and warning of the risks of heat exhaustion.
But for all these universal consequences, the climate crisis is felt in specific ways depending on where you are – and its impacts are doled out unevenly. Here are a few examples of the consequences of extreme weather patterns that have been felt across the world in recent days:
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London, UK | 29.3C yesterday
While a great deal of coverage of good weather in the UK dwells - understandably - on beaches and ice cream, the growing health risks associated with historically abnormal temperatures are real.
The UK Health Security Agency has issued several heat health alerts covering much of England for Friday, warning that the elderly and people with chronic health conditions are particularly at risk. 3,000 ‘excess deaths’ were linked to heatwaves in the UK in heatwaves between 2016 and 2019.
And while the 34C that is expected in the south east tomorrow - and the 29C in London today - are not unprecedented temperatures, that 34C level has been reached three times in the last six years - a consistency that alarms climate scientists.
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Doha, Qatar | 44C yesterday
If common sense hadn’t prevailed and prompted a shift to a winter tournament, the World Cup would have begun last Friday in Qatar – when the temperature hit 49C, only 0.3C from the June record. Yesterday, the high in Doha was 44C, compared to a historic June average of 41.7C.
Recent legislation has greatly expanded rules prohibiting outdoor work in the middle of the day, a response to intense criticism over the number of migrant workers dying due to heat stress. But there are still concerns about cases where those rules are ignored in ways that marry the demands of the on-demand economy with rising temperatures.
On Wednesday, for example, Doha News reported that delivery drivers are (illegally) being given only the “option” not to work between 10 and 330, but feel they have no choice – because most orders come at lunchtime, when nobody wants to go outside to get their own food.
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Jacobabad, Pakistan | 45C yesterday
On 14 May, the temperature in Jacobabad hit 51C, making it the hottest city in the world at the time. A summer season that used to begin in May now begins in March.
Last month, Rahmat Tunio reported on the consequences of that change for a city of 300,000. Hospitals are being overrun with heatstroke patients, huge crowds go to cold-water stations, and those who can afford to are moving away; trees which used to provide shade have mostly been cut down and sold or used as fuel.
“The heat is becoming unbearable,” said Muhammad Akbar, who sells dried chickpeas and has suffered heatstroke three times. “I’m scared that this heat will take our lives in the coming years.”
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Seville, Spain | 42.4C on Wednesday
Swathes of southern France and Spain have been enduring the second extreme heat event of the year, with temperatures that aren’t usually experienced until July or August already hitting; it is Spain’s most extreme June heat in 20 years.
Seville has regularly been hitting highs above 40, against an average maximum at this time in June of around 33C, according to data provided by Metdesk. Last year, the city became the first to start naming and ranking its heat waves, treating them like tropical storms and hurricanes as a way to raise public awareness of the danger they pose and how to prepare for them better.
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Phoenix, Arizona | 44C yesterday
A heat dome has formed over the western part of the US this week, and one of the hardest hit states has been Arizona. Even at midnight, temperatures were still hitting 38C in the state’s capital, Phoenix. To the dismay of residents in the city, the temperature has not dropped past 27C for over a week. Yesterday, the mercury hit 44C, bringing a severe weather warning.
But it’s not just about the highs — the hot season is starting earlier, finishing later and the frequency of dangerously hot days are increasingly common. As higher temperatures reduce moisture in arable land, wildfires not only become more common they become more severe.
Earlier this week one broke out in Flagstaff and within a day more than 24,000 acres had been burnt to the ground. To try to deal with the problems caused by extreme heat, the city has appointed a dedicated heat tsar (although there isn’t a dedicated budget for it yet.)
What else we’ve been reading: the journalism of Dom Phillips
With the terrible news about Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira confirmed, we thought it was a good time to look back on Phillips’ journalism – and his dedication to the environmental harm being done in his adopted homeland of Brazil. That damage was only accelerated by the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president, something Dom had warned about before his victory.
Dom was a big part of revealing the links between JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, and Amazon deforestation in an investigation by the Guardian, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Réporter Brasil, and Greenpeace and Amnesty International: “the evidence raises serious questions about JBS’s review of its own complex supply chain, at a time when the Brazilian government is being taken to task by international investors over rising deforestation and fires”.
It was a subject he would return to, together with Michael Standaert in China, as Dom drew attention to the ever-growing appetite for beef and how it was driving the environmental crisis in the Amazon: “Ravenous demand from China has helped Brazilian beef sales rocket to record levels – but the boom comes at a high environmental cost … the country is the world’s biggest beef exporter.”
But he was also committed to finding the positive stories out of Brazil too, such as the thriving sustainable agriculture enterprises being explored in the country: “The culture here is slash and burn, and we’re trying to change that,” Scannavino Netto says.
And this unforgettable piece about indigenous fishermen is testament to the work Dom will be remembered for, in which he talked about the threat to the Brazilian government’s indigenous agency, Funai, which Bruno Pereira worked for: “Months earlier, a Funai team were shot at by another group of fishermen. Agency staff are not normally armed, nor do they have clear rules on arrests. ‘It is dangerous to go after fishermen or hunters who are armed and in teams of six people,’ de Souza says.”
Sport
Football | A volley from Rachel Daly and two own goals ensured England eventually eased past Belgium in the first of their three pre-Euros friendlies. Manager Sarina Wiegman demanded more ruthlessness from her team.
Football | The French official investigating the Champions League final chaos in Paris in which Liverpool fans were teargassed admitted there were “many regrets” over what happened. But Michel Cadot told France’s senate that preparations had been robust.
Golf | Four time major champion Rory McIlroy played an almost perfect game for the first six holes but McIlroy also showed some serious anger after he smashed a bunker at the 5th before saving par. Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin sat at the leaderboard’s summit at minus four.
The front pages
The Guardian print edition leads with “Johnson may scrap role of ethics adviser after Geidt’s resignation” while the Financial Times has “Ukraine’s drive to join EU gains impetus from European leaders”. Metro says “11% Hell Is On The Way” with “Inflation to hit new high as rates rise”; the i reports “No tax cuts for two years as inflation heads for 11%”. The Telegraph’s version is “Inflation to hit 11pc, says Bank of England” while the Times says the figure means “Pain ahead”. “Shock as food prices to soar 15%” says the Express. The Daily Mail says a “Families are warned: Now brace for pain of the big crunch”. The Mirror says the sentencing submission of “deluded socialite” Ghislaine Maxwell after her sex trafficking conviction amounts to “Let me out in two years”. The Sun attributes to “Airport chaos” the death of a disabled man who fell down an escalator at Gatwick.
Something for the weekend
Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read and listen to right now
TV
Sherwood (BBC)
“It is the drama equivalent of bowling a strike: a writer knowing the setting and themes in his bones, a dream cast, each doing their best work in years and their chemistry creating something even greater than the sum of its superb parts.” – Lucy Mangan
Music
Nova Twins – Supernova
“The genre-splicing pair’s sharp, concise songwriting makes for a mindblowing blast of distorted noise-pop – and destroys the narrative about who gets to make rock music” – Alexis Petridis
Film
Lightyear
“Lightyear might not precisely be up there with the very creamiest of the Pixar crop but it reminds you why we loved Pixar in the first place: wit, fun, storytelling and heart.” – Peter Bradshaw
Podcast
First Person
“New York Times journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro goes beyond the hot take to find out what truly informs people’s opinions. She talks to those directly affected by what’s in the news, starting with Merritt Tierce who shines a light on what overturning Roe v Wade really means, sharing her experience of teenage pregnancy.” – Hannah Verdier
Today in Focus
Abba avatars: will technology transform the gig-going experience?
More than 40 years since they were last on tour, Abba have returned as digital avatars. Is Abba Voyage, which debuted in London last month, the future of concerts?
Cartoon of the day | Steve Bell
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
“Save the polar bears” is one of the most popular refrains from environmentalists and conservationists as the animals have long since been teetering towards extinction. A warming planet is particularly deadly for them as their homes are melting away.
Researchers however have found a group of a few hundred polar bears in southeast Greenland who seem to be surviving fine despite the lack of sea ice. The discovery of these geographically isolated animals has given these researchers hope that all might not be lost.
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until Monday.
