How to understand this heat wave (as told by NPR's senior climate editor)

A woman walks in the shade in downtown Houston, Texas, on July 30, 2026, during a regional heat wave. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

More than 80 million people are under an Extreme Heat Warning or Heat Advisory through this week, according to the National Weather Service . Forecasters at the service's Weather Prediction Center called this latest heat dome a "steamy air-mass even by mid-to-late August standards."

Dangerous record-breaking heat will continue across the South-Central U.S. and expand into the Southwest by mid-week, bringing daytime temperatures into the triple digits . Much of the desert Southwest, including parts of Arizona and New Mexico, could also break heat records, according to the National Weather Service .

As the senior climate editor at NPR, I often send out guidance to the NPR newsroom during extreme weather to help other editors and reporters understand the role of climate change.

Now, as large regions of the U.S. are under threats from dangerous heat, you might be looking for that same context and information.

PLUS: Scroll to the bottom of this article where you can ask us questions about about climate change and its influence on extreme weather.

This latest heat wave is expected to remain over much of the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley through the middle of this week, bringing temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The Southwest will continue to warm through the end of the week where daytime highs could be upwards of 110 degrees or more.

It's not just the daytime temperatures that are high. The nights won't cool down , according to the National Weather Service . These prolonged high temperatures coupled with little relief overnight increase the risk of heat-related illnesses.