2023’s extreme storms, heat and wildfires broke records – a scientist explains how global warming is fueling climate disasters

The year 2023 was marked by extraordinary heat, forest fires and weather disasters.

In the US, an unprecedented heat wave gripped much of Texas and the Southwest, with highs well above 37.8 degrees Celsius throughout July.

Historic rains in April flooded Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with 2 feet of rain in 24 hours. A wave of severe storms in July sent water flooding into towns in Vermont and New York. Another powerful system inundated the Atlantic coast in December with a hurricane-like storm surge and heavy rainfall. California suffered floods and mudslides from a series of atmospheric rivers early this ...