What we’ve witnessed in a year of extreme heat

On 21 July, Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race was the biggest story in the world. But something else happened that Sunday. It was the hottest day in recorded history, though not for long. The record was broken again just 24 hours later.

Fuelled by the climate crisis and El Niño, this has been a year of global extreme temperatures. Australia suffered a string of heatwaves through its summer months and, in February, parts of west Africa reported 50C temperatures that made “time stand still”, as a local carpenter in Burkina Faso told environment editor Damian Carrington. From March heatwaves hit Mexico, the southern United States and central America, then India, southern Europe, Japan and Saudi Arabia, where 1,300 people died during the hajj pilgrimage. Last week we reported that temperatures in Antarctica were 28C higher than usual on some days in July.

Our coverage of this run of extreme heat has placed the human impact front and centre. Just this week we’ve covered Italian fishers adapting to a warmer sea, prisoners being broiled in Texas jails, 33C temperatures in Canada’s Arctic region and shared readers’ tips for how to stay cool. On Monday’s episode of Today in Focus Samira Shackle told the story of David Azevedo, a construction worker who died in 2022 during a heatwave in France. And as George Monbiot put it in a stirring piece about the heat divide: “the inner sanctum is always air-conditioned”. Next week our environment team will launch an important series exploring the full global impact of this year of record temperatures.

One of our most-read pieces this week features images that encapsulate the threat of a warmer planet as well as any words: holiday snaps taken by a couple in the same spot next to a Swiss glacier 15 years apart. In less than two decades this melting glacier has become a lake.

It’s alarming, for sure, but it’s important to talk about the actions we can take. Climate scientists tell us that one of the most important things we can do is to elect leaders who can enact the major systemic changes we need, and there’s certainly been hope on that front this year. In June, Mexico elected climate scientist Claudia Sheinbaum as its next president and on Tuesday Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz, a noted climate champion, as her running mate. Next up, just the small matter of her winning the US election.

See you next week.

It has been an extremely difficult week for minority communities across Britain, with far right-led riots continuing to target mosques, asylum seeker accommodation, shops and community hubs in towns and cities. Our reporters, photographers and multimedia journalists on the ground have balanced impactful reporting with the need to protect their own safety. On Wednesday police warned they were braced for the worst unrest since the 2011 riots - but in the event, thousands of anti-racism protesters turned out, forming human shields as they danced or held placards saying “fascist scum out of Brum” or “nans against Nazis”. They far outnumbered anti-immigrant agitators. Remona Aly wrote a stirring column about the hope this show of solidarity gave her and Ben Jennings drew a powerful cartoon. We also kept the focus on the “keyboard warriors” who have helped stir up hatred and spread misinformation, asking whether the authorities are powerless to stop Tommy Robinson and what Elon Musk’s game really is.

Bangladesh has also been experiencing major civil unrest. Redwan Ahmed and Kaamil Ahmed covered the fast-moving events after protests forced the increasingly autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country. She was replaced by an interim leader, the Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus.

A new Guardian US election series profiled a stark shift in the political attitudes of young Americans. While gen Z women are more progressive and politically engaged, young men are drifting right in droves. Sam Wolfson examined whether young men could hand Trump the presidency. Meanwhile, Emma Brockes in New York was highly entertaining about the appealing and very middle-American charm of Kamala Harris’s newly unveiled running mate Tim Walz, and the problems the army veteran and former high school football coach presents for Donald Trump.

Our team in Jerusalem interviewed a number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, the majority of whom had been arrested without charge and released without trial. They detailed disturbing patterns of abuse including violence, extreme hunger and humiliation that rights group B’Tselem says are now systemic across Israel’s jail system. One of the reporters on the project, Bethan McKernan, also spoke to Michael Safi about the story on Today in Focus.

A magical Paris Olympics is drawing to a close. This week Helen Davidson looked at the anger from Taiwanese supporters at being banned from using the word “Taiwan” at the Games. Ewan Murray provided an insight into the strict weighing regime boxers must comply with as India’s gold medal hope Vinesh Phogat was disqualified just hours before the final for gaining just 100g between bouts, despite cutting off her hair to try to tip the scales. Guardian Australia reporters Mike Hytner, Jack Snape and Kieran Pender covered every moment of Australia’s greatest-ever medal haul, including a golden performance by 14-year-old skateboarder Arisa Trew. Sean Ingle was lucky enough to be in the Stade de France for one of Britain’s highlights of the Games: Keely Hodgkinson’s magnificent gold in the 800m.

After last week’s massive prisoner swap between Russia and the west, I was fascinated by Shaun Walker’s piece about how the young children of two of the deep cover spies sent back to Moscow only learned they were Russian on the plane home.

Rich Pelley tried the new TikTok trend of “rawdogging” so you don’t have to. It might sound disgusting, but instead involves men proving their masculinity by doing not very much, often during long-distance travel; that means no screens, no food and no talking. Is it what we used to call staring into space?

With people increasingly fed up of dating – it’s expensive, time-consuming and often disappointing – should we take our lead from Iceland? In an entertaining and informative instalment of our Euro visions series, Zoe Williams spent time in Reykjavik talking to residents about their “sex before coffee” approach to finding love.

And finally, for anyone who needs to entertain children during the school holidays, Guardian writers have revealed the films they watched with their children – or their parents – that have stuck with them. Totally charming. Also: I’ll definitely be trying to dead hang this August.

One more thing … I was delighted to get to see The Years at London’s Almeida theatre this week, Eline Arbo’s interpretation of Annie Ernaux’s masterpiece in which five different (fabulous) actors play the author at different stages of her life. Our critic Arifa Akbar gave the play an absolute rave review and it is stunning: moving, intense, full of humour and sadness and delight. Plus a few bits that are not for the faint-hearted.

Cook this | Rachel Roddy’s orecchiette with raw and cooked tomato sauce

Making these pasta ears is almost child’s play, while the sauce is a riot of cooked and raw tomatoes.

Watch this | Why is anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise in Canada?

Canada has long been celebrated for its welcoming stance towards immigrants, fostering a prosperous, multicultural society. But in recent years, rising concerns over living costs and housing shortages have fueled a mounting scepticism of the country’s immigration policies. Leyland Cecco reports.

Come to this | Kate Atkinson: Death at the Sign of the Rook

The award-winning author introduces the latest addition to her bestselling crime novels featuring Jackson Brodie. Death at the Sign of the Rook. Atkinson’s brilliantly plotted and supremely entertaining tour de force that pays homage to the masters of the murder mystery genre.

Wednesday 21 August 2024, 7pm-8pm BST. Book tickets now.

The Guardian’s crosswords and Wordiply are here to keep you entertained throughout the weekend.