Fires, floods and storms: America’s ‘permanent emergency’ has begun

This summer of climate horror feels like the ‘first, vertiginous 15 minutes of a disaster movie’, says The New York Times

Vehicles and a home are engulfed in flames
Vehicles and a home are engulfed in flames as the Dixie fire rages on in Greenville, California, on 5 August 2021
(Image credit: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)

Apocalypse Right Now would be an apt title for it, said Maureen Dowd in The New York Times. This summer of climate horror feels like the “first, vertiginous 15 minutes of a disaster movie”.

It began with the hottest June in recorded history: temperature records were smashed not just in hot spots like Death Valley (54.4°C), but in such mild locales as British Columbia (49.6°C) and Seattle (42.2°C). That was followed by supercharged rain storms which created massive flooding in central Europe and China, turning streets into raging rivers.

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