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The number of heat domes in North America has increased every year since 1940, a recent climatology study found.
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The rise in heat domes corresponds with an increase in extreme heat due to human-caused climate change, the study found. A heat dome is a large, warm, high-pressure air mass that traps hot air and suppresses precipitation for several days to over a week. The number of heat domes in northwestern North America is projected to nearly double by 2080 if carbon emissions continue at high levels.
A heat dome parked over the Western U.S. in July led to record highs in several states, with temperatures peaking at 115 degrees in Miles City, Montana.
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Extreme heat increases the risk of heat-related illness. 2026 has seen the highest rates of medical visits for heat-related illnesses in Colorado since the state started collecting data in 2019.
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Sources
- Science Direct A Climatology of Heat Domes over North America
- American Meteorology Society Glossary of Meteorology Heat dome definition
- NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science Projected increase in summer heat-dome-like stationary waves
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration Heat dome broils the Western U.S.
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Heat-related illness data
- Environmental Protection Agency Extreme Heat