Surviving the Swelter: Understanding the summer heat

Indianapolis recently faced an intense heat wave, prompting residents to rethink how to stay cool and safe. The extreme temperatures have raised fresh concerns about climate change’s influence on local weather patterns and how to adapt to even hotter summers. The late June heat wave is a symptom of a larger problem. According to a study from the academic journal “Nature,” the summer of 2024 is on track to be even hotter than that of 2023, which broke a 2,000-year-old record. The record has made its way into the Circle City, creating an uncharacteristically early heat wave that had Hoosiers sweating. Aaron Updike, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, agrees. “We are warmer than usual for this time of year,” Updike said. “Eighty-five is the average high, so we are about 5 to 10 degrees above normal.” Indiana was one of several states experiencing an early rise in temperatures. Nearly 65 million Americans were under heat alerts in the Midwest and Northeast, according to the National Weather Service. In the Southwest, temperatures reached a peak of 113 degrees, sparking wildfires and threatening droughts. The Nature Conservancy, Indiana’s largest nonprofit dedicated to identifying solutions to address the impacts of climate...