Record heat is becoming much more common than record cold
Five charts to start your day
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CHART 1 • Record heat is becoming much more common than record cold
Climate change can feel abstract when it is discussed through global averages. Record heat is more direct: it is what people feel in hot nights, stressed grids and outdoor work that becomes dangerous.
Paul Krugman’s chart compares record highs and lows with a climate that was not warming. Record heat is now roughly four times more common than expected, while cold records are about half as common.
A warmer baseline changes risk before any single day can be blamed on climate change. The current heatwave gives the pattern a setting, especially because dangerous overnight temperatures leave the body less chance to recover.
Source: Paul Krugman
Record heat turns an abstract baseline shift into something physical. Hot nights, strained grids and outdoor work make the change feel much less distant.
Paid subscribers get access to the other four charts: the US baby boom, European drinking-water access, car dependability and food delivery before football half-time. Together, they show how large systems appear in family patterns, infrastructure, products and small habits.
