Too Hot to Handle: July 2023 Hottest Month Ever Recorded

This story originally appeared in Southport High School’s The Journal Rewired, on Sept. 1, 2023.

With scorching heat waves circling the globe, NASA scientists have now ranked July 2023 as the hottest month ever recorded.

“Everything was really weird this year,” freshman Stephanie McGuire said. “It’s just getting hotter.”

These extreme temperatures have taken a toll on the way people all over the world are living their lives, specifically in Indianapolis. Time outside gets cut short, practices get canceled and nature suffers from the intense sun exposure.

The heat wasn’t the only weather that put summer activities on hold. Intense waves of storms swept their way through the Midwest, destroying neighborhoods, businesses and more.

These conditions have affected everyone, including SHS students. Athletes’ practices were moved inside due to dangerous temperatures, or they were canceled altogether. With their fall seasons right around the corner, teams were not happy about giving into the setbacks that the warmth and storms were practically begging for. But when it becomes unsafe to be in the heat, even the dedicated athletes would rather stay cool.

“It’s just too hot for us to run and be able to function without getting water breaks every five seconds,” junior cheerleader Keyona Graham said.

Students who do not participate in SHS sports had their own set of struggles.

Many kids who usually spend most of their time outside found themselves getting severe sunburns at a much quicker rate than they are used to. Those with light or sensitive skin had a hard time preventing skin damage, even with extra SPF. 

“I don’t get sunburned that easily, but this year, I got extremely sunburned every day,” McGuire said.

Also, the plants she had been growing were unable to withstand the combination of unstable temperatures, extreme rain and wind. Her flowers could not bloom in the conditions, and they wilted almost instantly. 

“It was just too hot,” McGuire said.

Students have also noticed how it never seems to get cold in the winter anymore. Graham describes it as “short non-cold winters and long hot summers.”

Is this somehow related to the intense heat of summer 2023?

Scientists say climate change is definitely playing a role in the intense heat, but determining its significance can be complicated.

“Climate change is happening,” Indiana University Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Travis O’Brien said. “It is causing the Earth to get warmer.”

Looking at weather patterns and heat waves from the past, scientists are able to predict these were likely impacted by climate change. They are also able to see that average global temperature has risen so much, climate change currently affects almost all weather.

“Climate change is just so wrapped up in everything we are experiencing right now that everything we see is probably in part sort of normal behavior and in part climate change,” Indiana University Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Ben Kravitz said. “There’s no way to separate them anymore.”

Evidence suggests that climate change affects storms in some capacity.

“Climate change seems to be making convective storms cover a wider area,” O’Brien said.

Even if it wasn’t the main cause of this summer’s heat, climate change is responsible for many other global issues. It is elevating ocean temperatures, melting glaciers and making areas uninhabitable for native plants.

O’Brien says that many leaders across the globe have recognized this as an emergency and are learning what they can do to help diminish what they have already started.

“A lot of countries, including the United States, are investing a lot and thinking about how can we best adapt to climate change,” O’Brien said. “How can we save the most lives?”

Kravitz says that when fossil fuels are burned, it can’t just be forgotten about because it is “in the air.” However, that is not how it works. The carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere.

“We need to stop treating the atmosphere like a sewer,” Kravitz said.

Whether this summer was caused by climate change or not, students agree that it definitely took a toll on their life.

Experts think that there is a possibility for a cooler future. It involves a lot of money, time and research, but they say it is a very realistic project.

“You shouldn’t lose hope,” O’Brien said.