Summer Weather Reporting Guide

The guide outlines the relationship between climate change and four types of summer extreme weather. It notes that heat is the deadliest weather event, killing nearly 500,000 people annually since 2000 globally, and that fossil fuel pollution drives these heat waves. It explains that oceans absorb nearly 90% of Earth's excess heat, which supercharges hurricanes by increasing intensity, rain rates, and storm surges. Regarding flooding, the guide states that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, leading to more frequent and intense heavy rainfall since the 1950s. Finally, it attributes the increasing threat and length of wildfire seasons to rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns that make vegetation more flammable.

• Extreme heat is the deadliest weather event, causing nearly 500,000 deaths per year globally since 2000, which is approximately 30 times the mortality rate of tropical cyclones. In the United States, heat has caused over 21,000 deaths since 1999.
• Climate change is increasing the intensity of tropical cyclones across all ocean basins, resulting in heavier rain, stronger winds, and higher storm surges, often through rapid intensification. However, the total annual number of tropical cyclones has not changed significantly over recent decades.
• Heavy rainfall has become more frequent and intense across most of the world since the 1950s because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. Precipitation extremes are expected to increase globally with continued warming, regardless of whether average precipitation in a region is decreasing.
• Wildfire seasons are becoming longer and more dangerous as rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns make vegetation drier and more flammable. Rapid shifts between very wet and very dry conditions have contributed to destructive fires in locations such as Los Angeles.

APA

CCNow (2025). Summer Weather Reporting Guide. Covering Climate Now. https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/summer-weather-reporting-guide/

Chicago

CCNow. Summer Weather Reporting Guide. Covering Climate Now, 2025. https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/summer-weather-reporting-guide/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CCNow |title=Summer Weather Reporting Guide |publisher=Covering Climate Now |date=20 May 2025 |url=https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/summer-weather-reporting-guide/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ccnow2025summer, author = {CCNow}, title = {{Summer Weather Reporting Guide}}, institution = {Covering Climate Now}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/summer-weather-reporting-guide/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }