Blog seriesDanger Season
A series on the link between climate change and the worsening impacts of the summer months.
Danger Season
100 percent of people in the United States faced an extreme weather alert during Danger Season 2024
Updated Thursday, October 31, 2024
Nearly every person in the United States was impacted by extreme weather from May through October, 2024—what we call Danger Season. This isn’t normal. The climate crisis is the result of decades of dependence on fossil fuels, deception and obstruction from the fossil fuel industry, and inaction from policymakers. We need change now.
37%
Percent of people who faced alerts that live in areas designated as disadvantaged.
100%
Percent of people living in the United States who faced an alert during Danger Season ‘24.
62% Percent of extreme heat alerts during Danger Season ’24 with a clear climate change signal.
More about Danger Season 2024
The summer of 2024 was a brutal reality check. For the first time on record, nearly every region of the country experienced extreme heat, including all of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Floods and fires raged from coast to coast, and Hurricane Helene pounded the southeast.
While every county was affected, some areas had it particularly bad. California's Riverside County is classified as having more than a quarter of its population as "disadvantaged," and experienced a total of 84 heat alerts—the most in the country. Orange County in Texas, and Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana, also have disproportionately large disadvantaged populations, and faced more than 100 total flood alerts each.
2025 may bring even more extreme impacts as the climate crisis intensifies
More about this tool
"Danger Season" is the period between May and October when North America experiences its worst climate impacts. This tool tracks the severity of Danger Season by collecting daily alert data from the National Weather Service. Climate Central provides the data that directly connects heat alerts with climate change. Alarmed? Join us or take action to play your part.
We plan on re-launching this site to track Danger Season 2025. Look for updates starting in early summer 2025.
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