Heat seasons drift into spring and fall worldwide, study finds
A study comparing 1980s to 2015–2024 data finds extreme heat seasons expanding across about half the world’s land area, with spring heat arriving earlier in some regions and fall heat later in others, complicating preparedness and overlapping with wildfire and hurricane seasons. Dry heat expands more in some areas while humid heat dominates in others, and while climate change is the likely driver, the study cannot yet quantify its exact contribution.