While it’s valid to question the record-breaking temperatures reported in the article due to changing measurement practices over time, it’s important to consider the broader context. The lack of long-term historical records may limit direct comparisons, but climate scientists use statistical techniques to account for these limitations. Overall, while individual data points have their uncertainties, the article’s message aligns with the consensus among scientists about the long-term trend of global warming driven by human activities.

For the past couple of years it’s been a lot of news of “Hottest Day Ever” to which my favorite response has always been a slightly cheeky “So far!”, but I’ve realized with the recent coverage of large swaths of the US reaching deadly wet bulb temps that that’s going to change. The headlines won’t be for the hottest day, they’ll be for the highest death count, and nobody will say the second part but we’ll all be thinking it.

Wow

I’m a little skeptical of these numbers. It’s the hottest day based on average temperatures across the globe, but surely the various readings they take for this have changed significantly over time. Like, the records can’t have gone back very far, as back then you’d be looking at a different measurement excluding some key areas.

I don’t doubt it’s getting hotter, but this feels like a somewhat sensationalist headline.