Hawaii is burning, with 36 people killed as wildfires ripped through the island of Maui last week. Over the past six weeks, there have been significant wildfires in Europe and North America, and the month of July 2023 marked the hottest period in 120,000 years.
With experts predicting an El Nino event here this summer, there are real concerns Australia is in for another horror bushfire season, similar to the Black Summer seen in 2019.
We’re joined by award-winning journalist Jeff Goodell, whose book is The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet. It presents a graphic and comprehensive understanding of heat and how it impacts the United States.
“In Phoenix, Arizona where the temperatures have been extreme, you know emergency rooms are full of people who are having some version of a heat stroke.”
“If you’re living on the street, they’re getting third degree burns from the extreme temperatures of the sidewalks and the asphalt.”
In this episode of The Briefing, we ask Goodell, what’s in store for Earth if the world keeps warming?