The planet has been grilling this summer, with July earning the unwelcome title of hottest month since records began in the 19th century. Indeed, climate scientists think it may have been the hottest month in 120,000 years. But given the rapid pace of climate change, July offered only a taste of the heat to come. In 2015, world leaders set a goal of keeping the average global surface temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. In July, global temperatures crossed that critical threshold, albeit briefly. Nearly 5,000 local heat and precipitation records were broken in the United States alone; globally, the number exceeded 10,000. And scientists predict that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. (Alice Hill)