Vancouver reached 23.9°C (75°F) on Monday, May 4, 2026, breaking the city’s daily maximum temperature record of 22.2°C (72°F) set in 1898. Multiple communities across British Columbia also set daily temperature records.
A record-breaking March heat wave across the southwestern United States accelerated the wildflower bloom cycle in Death Valley National Park, causing peak conditions to occur earlier than typical seasonal patterns. The National Park Service (NPS) reported that lower elevation flowers have already begun setting seed following intense heat and high winds, while the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that hundreds of daily temperature records were set or tied across parts of the region.
Record heat is forecast to persist across parts of the western and central United States through March 25, 2026, with the National Weather Service warning that more than 200 daily record highs could be set as above-normal temperatures spread from the West back into the central and southern Plains. A brief cooldown over parts of the central and eastern U.S. on March 23 is expected to be short-lived. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a severe thunderstorm outlook for Thursday, March 26, covering areas from northeast Missouri to western and northern Ohio.
An intense early-season heatwave pushed temperatures to extreme levels across the southwestern United States between March 18 and 22, 2026, as a persistent high-pressure ridge produced widespread daily and monthly March temperature records. Record heat was reported across Arizona, California, Nevada, and other parts of the western United States.
A historic March heat event affected the U.S. Southwest on March 19 and 20, 2026, setting a new March temperature record in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a new highest March temperature ever recorded in the United States near Martinez Lake, Arizona. Multiple daily and monthly records were also broken across parts of Nevada, California, and Arizona, while authorities in Phoenix closed some hiking trails because of heat risk.
An anomalously early-season heatwave intensified across the western United States on March 18, 2026, with Extreme Heat Warnings in effect for parts of the Desert Southwest and temperatures forecast to expand east into the Rockies and Great Plains by March 20. Highs are expected to reach 40–44°C (104–112°F) in the hottest desert regions, with numerous daily and some monthly March records likely to be broken.
Extreme Heat Watches have been issued for parts of California and Arizona as an anomalous and unusually prolonged heat event intensifies across the Southwest United States. Watches begin Monday, March 16, 2026, in parts of Southern California, then expand into parts of Arizona and southeast California later in the week, with some desert areas forecast to reach up to 43°C (109°F) and temperatures in some locations rising 11–17°C (20–30°F) above normal for mid-March.
Temperatures in France reached levels typical of May on February 25–26, 2026, breaking multiple February records, according to Météo-France. The highest readings occurred in the southwest, where Pomps (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) reached 28.4°C (83.1°F) and Orthez (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) 28.3°C (82.9°F), about 14°C (25°F) above normal. Several other stations also registered new monthly records.
Temperatures across southeastern Australia reached record levels on January 27, 2026, with the Bureau of Meteorology confirming a new all-time high of 48.9°C (120°F) at Walpeup and Hopetoun in Victoria. The readings surpassed the previous state record of 48.8°C (119.8°F) set in 2009, amid severe to extreme heatwave conditions extending across Victoria, South Australia, and inland New South Wales.
Australia is enduring one of its most intense heatwaves since the 2019–20 Black Summer, with extreme temperatures, strong winds and dry lightning fuelling catastrophic fire danger across multiple states. Emergency-level bushfires have been reported in South Australia and Victoria, while BOM forecasts indicate the threat will intensify through Friday, before cooler air reaches southern regions at the weekend.
