This October was the hottest on record globally, 1.7 degrees Celsius (3.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month — and the fifth straight month with such a mark in what will now almost certainly be the warmest year ever recorded.

Earth’s average temperature remained at a record high on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, after two days in which the planet reached unofficial records. It’s the latest marker in a series of climate-change-driven extremes.

Drifting smoke from the ongoing wildfires across Canada is creating curtains of haze and raising air quality concerns throughout the Great Lakes region and in parts of the central and eastern United States.