Researchers from Columbia University’s Climate School have published a study proving the 2021 heat wave that hit the western half of North America, killing 1,400 people and setting new temperature records, was the most intense heat event seen in the area in over 1,000 years. Scientists drew this conclusion after utilizing core samples from trees to create a “year-by-year record of summer average temperatures going back to the year 950.”

The significance of this research is that this current period of sustained hot summers in western North America (1979 to 2021) is significantly hotter than any other observed period. In comparison to the hottest summer of the second most intense period (1028 to 1096), the average summer temperature for 2021 was four degrees hotter. As there are no signs of this current trend decreasing, organizations should continue to expect a high risk for unprecedented heat waves in the near future. Read more at State of the Planet.