Currently in Portland — July 21, 2023: A sunny weekend, but not quite as hot.

The weather, currently.

Compared to the scortchers we’ve been having, the weekend will be slightly mellower. We’ve got temps in the mid-80s coming Friday thru Sunday, but overnight temps will still struggle to get below 60. And even though we’re out of official warning territory, it’s still hot enough to get in trouble if you exert yourself, or if you’re hanging out somewhere that doesn’t have decent ventalation. (Not to mention fire danger still exists, even without an official warning.) So what I’m saying is—don’t let the hot weather frustration make you let your guard down! Keep staying smart and safe while you find ways to cool down, have fun, and enjoy the summer.

— Stella Harris

What you can do, currently.

The climate emergency doesn’t take the summer off. In fact — as we’ve been reporting — we’re heading into an El Niño that could challenge historical records and is already supercharging weather and climate impacts around the world.

When people understand the weather they are experiencing is caused by climate change it creates a more compelling call to action to do something about it.

If these emails mean something important to you — and more importantly, if the idea of being part of a community that’s building a weather service for the climate emergency means something important to you — please chip in just $5 a month to continue making this service possible.

Thank you!!

What you need to know, currently.

The North Atlantic Ocean heat wave is pushing further and further into uncharted territory — literally off the charts.

Versions of this graph, made by climate researcher Leon Simons, have been going viral all summer, and for good reason. Ocean temperatures in the Atlantic are right now far and above anything ever seen in the instrumental record.

The latest figures basin-wide are about 1.5°C above not only pre-industrial levels, but the recent thirty-years mean. Parts of the North Atlantic, particularly near Atlantic Canada, are right now more than 5°C above normal. These are worryingly high values, mostly because they are so far above even previous record years.

The consequences of water this warm are still playing out. Forecasters have boosted their outlooks for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, shallow water marine ecosystems are being disrupted, and extreme weather is already plaguing people on both sides of the pond — Florida, the Caribbean, and Europe have already endured record-breaking heatwaves.

Any climate scientist who tells you they know exactly what is going on is overstating their case — there are many theories, including a response to a recent reduction in sulfur aerosol pollution (as Currently has previously covered), the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an ocean-wide heat-transfer mechanism, a combination of some of the above, or something else entirely.

What’s clear is, we are in a climate emergency and adapting to these rapid changes is more difficult than preventing them in the first place.

—Eric Holthaus