From South Asia to North America, extreme heat waves are becoming more frequent, intense and widespread. In April 2024, temperatures in Jaipur, India, reached 44°C and in Shaheed Benazirabad, Pakistan, a scorching 50°C, as a heat wave swept across South Asia. Experts now warn that these conditions are fast becoming the new normal in many parts of the world.

According to NASA, there is “unmistakable evidence that the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate.” To support this, the Copernicus Earth observation program confirmed that on July 22, 2024, the highest average daily temperature in the world was measured – 17.16 °C since records began in 1940.

This Statista map highlights a selection of national and continental temperature records over the past six years. (Bruno Venditti, more at visualcapitalist.com)