The Southwest smashing heat records in March 'is what climate change looks like'

By — Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The Southwest smashing heat records in March 'is what climate change looks like' Science Mar 20, 2026 12:12 PM EDT WASHINGTON — The dangerous heat wave shattering March records all over the U.S. Southwest is more than just another extreme weather blip. It's the latest next-level weather wildness that is occurring ever more frequently as Earth's warming builds. Experts said unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting more people in danger. For example, the Southwest is used to coping with deadly heat, but not months ahead of schedule, including a 110-degree Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) reading in the Arizona desert on Thursday that smashed the highest March temperature recorded in the U.S. READ MORE: Severe storms blast eastern half of U.S. with snow and high winds, while heat rises in the West "This is what climate change looks like in real time: extremes pushing beyond the bounds we once thought possible," said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver. "What used to be unprecedented events are now recurring features of a warming world." Grow your mind Subscribe to our Science Newsletter to explore the wide worlds of science, health and technology. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. March's heat would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, according to a report Friday by World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists who study the causes of extreme weather events. More than a dozen scientists, meteorologists and disaster experts queried by The Associated Press put the March heat wave in a kind of ultra-extreme classification with such events as the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat...