UN asks nations to better prepare, cool the vulnerable as ‘extreme heat epidemic’ breaks records

Associated Press

The United Nations is calling for a flurry of efforts to reduce the human toll from soaring and searing temperatures in what it calls an extreme heat epidemic. Thursday’s report from 10 UN agencies and the secretary-general comes on the heels of three of the hottest days ever measured. Europe’s Copernicus climate service calculates that Monday was the highest temperatures they have seen in more than 84 years of measurements. That beat out the previous hottest day which was Sunday. Tuesday was not a record, but it was close. All three days were hotter than the old record from last year.