A resident receives emergency treatment for heat-related symptoms, in Henderson, Nevada, on July 10. A heat wave broke long-standing record highs in nearby Las Vegas last month.
Photographer: John Locher/AP Photo
Heat Week
The Era of Runaway Heat Records Is Here
Climate change is delivering spiking temperatures that break more records. Now scientists are anticipating bigger jumps from one high to the next.
Las Vegas set a heat record of 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47.2C) in 1942, and for 82 years no weather system could budge it. Thermometers registered the same temperature four more times, all since 2005, without setting a new high. Then 2024 happened.
The heat record was broken — and not by just a little. On July 7, the temperature at Harry Reid Airport in Paradise, Nevada, jumped to 120F.