Brooke Maslo, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University

Every month, the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., puts out a news release about how much ice is floating on the cold seas at the top of the world. Those who follow this obscure bit of news will know that last month marked the lowest extent of Arctic sea ice on record for June, going back to the beginning of satellite observations in the late 1970s… “If you take into account the thickness,” Jennifer Francis, a Rutgers University scientist, told me, “it’s more like two-thirds of the ice has been lost.” She added, “This is pretty much a bad-news story.”

The heat wave gripping parts of the country including Philadelphia, where tens of thousands are descending upon the city for the Democratic National Convention this week, is not going away anytime soon and will hit a peak Monday with temperatures in the city feeling like 108 degrees… “It’s fair to say that the vast majority of the nation has been experiencing above normal temperatures for the past week,” said David Robinson, New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University.