‘Uncharted Territory’ As Brewing El Niño, Roasting Oceans, Heat Bring Risk for California, Planet

As extreme heat smothered the eastern United States over the July Fourth weekend and Europe struggled with its own deadly heat wave, experts warned that more record high temperatures could be in store for this year because of a strengthening El Niño.

“We know that temperatures are warming in the long term, linked to human-caused climate change, and El Niño acts to boost those temperatures temporarily,” climate scientist Zachary Labe of the nonprofit Climate Central said in a recent briefing.