Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS FEATURE

Extreme heatwaves: surprising lessons from the record warmth

Unprecedented temperatures are coming faster and more furiously than researchers expected, raising questions about what to anticipate in the future.
  1. Alexandra Witze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Three firefighters carry a hose pipe past a wildfire burning in France during a heatwave

Firefighters battle blazes on 17 July in southwestern France that were spurred by an extreme heatwave. Credit: Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty

From London to Shanghai, unprecedented heatwaves have scorched many parts of the world in recent weeks. In June, Tokyo baked through nine consecutive days above 35 ºC, its most severe heatwave since official tallies began in the 1870s. In mid-July, the United Kingdom shattered records as temperatures soared above 40 ºC for the first time since measurements started. Meanwhile, heat-fuelled wildfires ravaged parts of France, Spain, Greece and Germany. And China has faced multiple widespread heatwaves, including one that hit more than 400 cities last week.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 608, 464-465 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02114-y

References

  1. Rousi, E., Kornhuber, K., Beobide-Arsuaga, G., Luo, F. & Coumou, D. Nature Commun. 13, 3851 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Thompson, V. et al. Sci. Adv. 8, eabm6860 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Christidis, N., McCarthy, M. & Stott, P. A. Nature Commun. 11, 3093 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Van Oldenborgh, G. J. et al. Earth’s Future 10, e2021EF002271 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Zachariah, M. et al. Without human-caused climate change temperatures of 40 °C in the UK would have been extremely unlikely. (World Weather Attribution, 2022).

  6. Fischer, E. M., Sippel, S. & Knutti, R. Nature Clim. Change 11, 689–695 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Rogers, C. D. W., Kornhuber, K., Perkins-Kirkpatrick, S. E., Loikith, P. C. & Singh, D. J. Clim. 35, 1063–1078 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kornhuber, K. et al. Nature Clim. Change 10, 48–53 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Zachariah, M. et al. Climate Change made devastating early heat in India and Pakistan 30 times more likely. (World Weather Attribution, 2022).

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links