Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to the latest news about climate, energy and the environment from across the USA TODAY Network. I’m Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent at USA TODAY who writes about the changing climate, violent weather and many other topics.
Lake Mead record low
A grim milestone was set on Lake Mead, as it reached its lowest water level since 1937, when the reservoir began filling after completion of the dam. Meanwhile, similar declines are being seen at Lake Powell, also on the Colorado River, where the water also may soon reach a record low.
Record heat
July weather summaries were released this week, with sweeping data confirming above-normal temperatures and heat indexes that disrupted July 4th festivities in parts of the United States, but also set records in locations around the globe.
July was the hottest month measured in 132 years of U.S. recordkeeping, more than 3.3 degrees warmer than the 20th century average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported. In Florida, a dozen counties broke century-old heat records, and changing rain patterns are raising new questions about the need for fresh water in the growing state.
The average sea surface temperature outside the poles was the warmest on record for July, thanks in part to the developing El Niño in the equatorial Pacific, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. More on that later.
Globally, the surface air temperature in July was tied with July 2024 as the second-warmest July on record, 1.2 degrees above the 1991-2020 average, the climate service said. Marine heat waves and record ocean surface temperatures were observed along the Atlantic coast of Europe and in the western Mediterranean. Prolonged heat and drought in western Europe led to intense wildfires.
A ‘historic event’ possible
In other news this week, NOAA updated its forecast for the El Niño in the Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon is strengthening and is likely to be a “historic event” well into the spring of 2027, NOAA said. It could exceed the strength of El Niño events dating back to 1950, NOAA said.
In the El Niño region along the equator, sea surface temperatures have continued to warm, and are now more than 3.6 degrees above average for the time of year.
Wildfires rage on
More than 100 large, wildland fires are burning in states across the country, the National Interagency Fire Center reported this week. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in the face of advancing flames.
Wildland firefighters and scientists told USA TODAY that fires are burning larger with more extreme fire behavior, and the changing climate shares part of the blame.
Oregon not only has seen the most wildfire acres burned in its history, it has also seen its largest wildfire in history.
Jackie the bald eagle
Readers kept close track of Jackie, a bald eagle whose nest overlooking Big Bear Lake, California, became world-famous after the Friends of Big Bear Valley installed a live streaming nest camera. The eagle was rescued in July and taken to the Ojai Raptor Center. The beloved eagle had an altercation with two other eagles, but suffered from an underlying illness.
After three weeks, comments on social posts and calls flooded into the raptor center, inundating the small staff that cares for its sick and injured birds, wrote USA TODAY’s Amanda Meyers. “While these actions are often driven by genuine concern, they can create significant distractions for the very people whose attention needs to remain on patient care,” the Raptor Center wrote in a social post.
Despite their efforts, the bald eagle ultimately died, prompting mourning over the eagle’s death. A timeline marks key points in the eagle’s life.
Read on for more including a look at a new nuclear power plant being built in Wyoming, backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to read the newsletter, we invite you to subscribe.