Heat | featured news

For folks without air conditioning, an electric fan may seem like a life-saver in a steaming summer like this one. But researchers who looked at existing studies say it's possible fans do more harm than good when the temperature soars above 95 degrees. That's because blowing hot air over your body might actually increase heat stress and your risk of heat-related illness -- even if you feel like the fan is cooling you down. Better ideas: get out of your hot house and into a cool mall or library for a few hours; take cool showers.

It's been a hot year. In fact, the first six months of 2012 accounted for the warmest January-through-June period on record for the contiguous U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday.

Even by the standards of the typically torrid Desert Southwest, the heat expected over the next couple of days will be excessive.

The U.S. Forest Service is warning that fire danger in the Angeles National Forest is being moved up a notch from "high" to "very high" over the Labor Day weekend as extreme heat is expected to return to the region.

The heat wave that has gripped Southern California will continue for at least one more day, as the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for large swaths of the region.

The dangerous heat wave blamed for as many as 13 deaths spread into the eastern United States on Wednesday, extending its reach across nearly half the U.S. population, officials said.

The temperature setting is stuck on broil across a swath of the Midwest and South, with Dallas and Oklahoma City sweltering through 100-degree heat for at least 10 days in a row....

The world is hotter than ever. March, April, May and June set records, making 2010 the warmest year worldwide since record-keeping began in 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.

Emergency rooms see an increase in cases of heat stroke and dehydration this time of year. Extra precautions must be taken to keep children safe, as well.

Metropolitan areas along eastern seaboard states are bracing for scorching, triple digit temperatures as a hot air mass that settled into the region Sunday promises hotter and more humid weather Tuesday.