Floods, fires and deadly heatwaves are the alarm bells of a planet on the brink

Our planet is careening into uncharted territory, while our governments continue to approve new multi-decade fossil fuel projects, writes Sarah Kaplan

A dog’s best friend: during massive flooding in Vermont, Tyler Jovic carries his neighbour’s pet to dry ground (John Tully/The Washington Post)

The world is hotter than it’s been in thousands of years, and it’s as if every alarm bell on Earth were ringing.

The warnings are echoing through the drenched mountains of Vermont, where two months of rain just fell in only two days. India and Japan were deluged by extreme flooding.

They’re shrilling from the scorching streets of Texas, Florida, Spain and China, with a severe heatwave also building in Phoenix and the Southwest in coming days.