The Morning: Your guide to the heat

Plus, a tropical storm, the presidential debate and an heiress who gave her money away.

View in browser|nytimes.com June 20, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We're covering the heat — as well as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico, the upcoming presidential debate and an heiress who gave her money away. In Manhattan. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times A hot new base line I still remember how hot the summer of 1993 felt. I was an intern working at The Boston Globe, and, when I would return to the office in the afternoon after reporting trips around the city, I had to steel myself for the walk across the sweltering parking lot. As one Globe headline put it — describing the entire city — "Pavement buckles, people lose cool and fans just blow hot air." Since then, I have often thought of 1993 as the hottest summer of my life. But it wasn't, according to historical weather data. It just felt that way because the intensity and frequency of heat was unusual at the time. Today, many of us have become accustomed to heat waves like the one now blanketing the eastern half of the country and much of the Southwest. They feel almost normal. They're not normal, however, or at least their frequency is not. As my colleague Manuela Andreoni has written, "2023 was the planet's warmest year on record and perhaps in the last 100,000 years." This year may break the record again. Last month was the 12th straight to be the hottest month of its kind on record. This chart shows the global trend: Source: Copernicus/ECMWF | By The New York Times In Boston, for example, the temperature reached at least 95 degrees on six different days in 1993. The same has been true in four of the past eight years there. (From the Times archives: See how much hotter your hometown has become.) Or consider Washington, where I now live. This chart shows the number of days each year that the temperature reached 95. What once qualified as an unusually hot year is now typical: Source: National Weather Service | By The New York Times Obviously, there are cyclical aspects of weather that have little to do with climate change. The summers of 1930 and 1943, when the atmosphere wasn't filled with nearly as much carbon dioxide as it now is, were also stiflingly hot in Washington and elsewhere, for instance. But the base line has shifted. Intense summer heat — the kind that's unpleasant for millions of people and dangerous for some — is now routine. The rest of today's newsletter gives you the highlights of Times coverage of the first major heat wave of 2024. I have included some of the best work from our Climate and Graphics desks that puts the changing weather into context. A programming note: Do you have questions about this newsletter? Or about the news? We want to hear them. Fill out this form — Ask The Morning Anything! — and we'll publish a selection of questions and my answers soon. More on the heat wave At Millennium Park in Chicago. Scott Olson/Getty Images The temperature in Chicago topped 90 for the fourth day this week. Because of the Juneteenth holiday, only one of the city's cooling centers was open. Americans said they were surprised by how early the heat had arrived. "Corn is supposed to be knee-high by July 4, but it is already higher than that," an Iowa resident, Dean Schantz, said. In New York City, public pools are not yet open for the summer. The heat was pronounced in New England. Caribou, a city in the northernmost part of Maine, matched its record of 96 degrees. Storms earlier this week knocked out electricity for thousands in the Pittsburgh area, leaving some without air conditioning as the heat index climbed toward 100 yesterday. Utility crews traveled from Ohio and West Virginia to help restore power lines. There's a meteorological reason for the prolonged heat: a "heat dome." If you vacation during the heat wave, experts advise that you keep your sightseeing to the evening and early morning. "In the mid- to late afternoon you either go back to the hotel to sit by the pool or go to the beach," one travel agent said. To cool a home without A.C., close blinds and use stick-on solar film. Read more tips. Times weather graphics The New York Times It's not your imagination: Summers are getting hotter. These charts let you trace the changes. Maps show where the heat is reaching dangerous levels in the U.S. and around the world. Earth's oceans are the hottest they have been in modern history, by a wide margin. Times journalists visited two cities transformed by extreme heat — Kuwait City and Basra, Iraq — to document the effects. More weather news Tropical Storm Alberto, the first major storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, brought floods to Texas. Mexico is bracing for landfall. Intense heat in Saudi Arabia has killed dozens during the hajj, a holy pilgrimage. ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Russia Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Vladimir Putin promised North Korea technological help, which could mean support for a nuclear program. Putin is now in Vietnam; see the Soviet-era plane that took him there. Jimmy Fallon mocked Kim Jong-un and Putin for making things official. More International News Israel's military said it could not defeat Hamas without installing a new administration in Gaza. The European Union warned France to rein in its debt or risk financial penalties. President Emmanuel Macron's opponents have promised to spend more. A nationwide blackout hit Ecuador. Two beluga whales were rescued from an aquarium under bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and flown to Spain. An Austrian heiress decided to give away most of her inheritance. Read where it's going. The political tensions between mainland China and Hong Kong have arrived in the city's restaurants. 2024 Election Biden's recent actions have clarified his approach to immigration: Help those who are already in the U.S., but limit arrivals. Donald Trump has long cast Biden as a man who struggles to speak. But as the first debate approaches, Trump is trying to shift those expectations. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime lover of birds, keeps ravens as wild pets. They're better behaved than his old emu, his wife says. More on Politics Female Marine recruits training in South Carolina in 2019. Lynsey Addario for The New York Times The military is struggling with recruitment. Congress is debating proposals to expand conscription to women and make registration automatic, but both face an uphill path to becoming law soon. Louisiana passed a law that requires public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Other Big Stories An OpenAI co-founder who helped briefly oust Sam Altman has started his own company. He wants to build A.I. technologies that are smarter than humans but not dangerous. Wildfires in New Mexico killed two people. Thousands fled. Researchers found the oldest shipwreck ever discovered in deep water. It likely sank sometime between 1400 B.C. and 1300 B.C. Opinions The sites of nuclear tests. The New York Times The nuclear-weapons tests of the past eight decades have left illness and displacement in their fallout, W.J. Hennigan writes. Putin's attempt to restore Russian greatness has instead made Russian emigrants ashamed of their country, Serge Schmemann writes. Executive orders aren't enough. Lasting change comes from pressuring Congress to pass laws, Sarah Isgur argues. Here's a column by Pamela Paul on why she doesn't like protesting. Games for relaxation. Games for concentration. We have them all. For a limited time, save 50% on your first year of a New York Times Games subscription and enjoy new puzzles every day. MORNING READS Is your leftover rice trying to kill you? Karsten Moran for The New York Times Rice: Leftover cooked rice has a scary reputation. Here's a guide to storing and reheating it safely. Solstice: Today is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Learn how that works. Airlines: Flying is still safe, but you can take precautions. Ask Well: Does stress cause ulcers? Fitness trackers: See what your heart rate can tell you. Lives Lived: Ricardo Urbina was a trailblazing Latino lawyer who scored victories for civil liberties as an empathetic federal judge. As a record-breaking track star, he helped fuel a protest at the 1968 Olympics. He died at 78. SPORTS N.B.A.: The Detroit Pistons fired their coach Monty Williams after just one season. It was a partnership destined for failure, our columnist writes. Soccer: The host, Germany, advanced to the round of the 16 at the Euros and appears primed to make a deep run. Croatia is in danger of crashing out. Olympics: The American swimming star Caeleb Dressel officially qualified for the Paris Games — but he won't get to defend his 100-meter freestyle gold. ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS In the entrance to a bachelor pad. Jackson DeMatos Many people have too much stuff and not enough space. Open storage — making the clutter into a display — has become a popular solution. Read designers' tips on how to do it. More on culture Sabrina Carpenter's blazer dress went viral after Pharrell Williams' Louis Vuitton men's spring show, The Hollywood Reporter writes. TikTok is fueling a chiropractor frenzy. After Justin Timberlake's arrest, news crews went to the Hamptons. They didn't find many answers. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Make the salad version of elotes, the Mexican corn on the cob. Cool your pets in the summer heat. Give yourself a manicure at home. This guide can help. Camp with this gear. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was pituitary. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.—David Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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