The Heat Wave That Hit the Pacific Northwest

<p>The heat wave that hit the usually cool and rainy American Pacific Northwest was a shock to many — Oregon and Washington were covered by a blanket of heat in the triple digits.</p><p>After the temperatures soared, a group of scientists quickly came together to answer a crucial question: How much is climate change to blame?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/henry-fountain">Henry Fountain</a>, a climate change reporter for The New York Times; and Sergio Olmos, a freelancer for The Times. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>An analysis of the recent record-breaking heat found that it would have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/climate/climate-change-heat-wave.html?smid=pc-thedaily">virtually impossible without the influence</a> of human-caused climate change.</li><li>The extreme temperatures in Oregon, Washington State and Canada were exacerbated by an intense drought. Here is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/us/heat-wave-cause.html?smid=pc-thedaily">what to know about these heat waves</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>