--- title: Summers Are Becoming Unbearably Hot Before They Even Start description: Countries around the world are recording extreme temperatures earlier in the year, expanding the increasingly dangerous heat wave season. canonical: https://time.com/6190496/heat-waves-summer-2022-starting-early/ author: Emily Barone article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-06-23T20:54:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T14:25:17.203Z article:section: Climate og:title: Summers Are Becoming Unbearably Hot Before They Even Start og:description: "It’s never been this hot so early in the year" og:url: https://time.com/6190496/heat-waves-summer-2022-starting-early/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6e8b610eecac00a/698a332286f68e10676f15ab/heat-wave-europe.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: FRANCE-WEATHER-HEAT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Summers Are Becoming Unbearably Hot Before They Even Start twitter:description: "It’s never been this hot so early in the year" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6e8b610eecac00a/698a332286f68e10676f15ab/heat-wave-europe.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Summers Are Becoming Unbearably Hot Before They Even Start > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=cde2eaca-dd7e-4524-8ece-f5e04cda4475&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=cde2eaca-dd7e-4524-8ece-f5e04cda4475&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=cde2eaca-dd7e-4524-8ece-f5e04cda4475&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Emily Barone](https://time.com/author/emily-barone/) ## Emily Barone Jun 23, 2022 8:54 PM UTC  People cool off at a water fountain in Perpignan, a city in southern France on June 17, 2022, amid sweltering temperatures. People cool off at a water fountain in Perpignan, a city in southern France on June 17, 2022, amid sweltering temperatures.Raymond Roig—AFP/Getty Images by [Emily Barone](https://time.com/author/emily-barone/) ## Emily Barone Jun 23, 2022 8:54 PM UTC A heat wave topping 100°F set records in multiple European countries this past week. Similar temperatures hit northern China, as well as midwest and southern U.S. states. These sweltering temperatures are remarkable on their own. But what makes them more striking is when they’re happening. As a sobering reminder, it’s not July or August. It’s mid-June. And the summer season only officially kicked off on Tuesday. To illustrate what this early heat looks like in a historical context, we created a chart (below) that compares 25 years’ of daily high temperatures in June and July in Biarritz, a coastal city in southwestern France. As the heat moved through Spain and France, Biarritz was among the hottest cities on Saturday, June 18, hitting a high of 109°F. Prior to this year, the average maximum temperature for June 18 between 1997 and 2021 was 74°F, according to our calculations using historical temperature data from Weather Underground. Of course, one wildly hot day in a single city doesn’t prove global warming. But such days are becoming more common around the world—and are raising the average temperature patterns overall. What’s more, these heat waves are happening on the fringes of the hot season, causing longer summers with extreme precipitation conditions—[both more wet and more dry](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/24/climate/warmer-wetter-world.html)—around the world. In the U.S., for instance, the heat wave season has stretched from 22 days in the 1960s to nearly 70 days in the most recent decade. Persistent heat waves are dangerous; Spain and Germany [have been battling wildfires](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/spain-germany-battle-wildfires-unusual-european-heat-wave-rcna34353) amid the scorching temperatures, France [canceled outdoor festivities](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61838543) to limit heat exposure over the weekend, and Italy’s health ministry issued health alerts and emergencies for 18 cities between June 22 and June 24. --- **_A version of this story first appeared in the_** **Climate is Everything** **_newsletter. To sign up,_** [**_click here_**](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters/?newsletter%5Fname=climate&source=onsite)**_._** --- Conditions on this side of the Atlantic are similarly alarming. In addition to the immediate risks of heat exposure, the [U.S. drought monitor](https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/) is currently showing extreme conditions across the West. Scorching temperatures [are killing cattle](https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105482394/cattle-kansas-heat-wave) and some states are [bracing for power outages](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/31/spiking-temperatures-could-cause-more-blackouts-this-summer-they-wont-be-the-last-00034858). And hotter nighttime temperatures are providing less relief to the oppressive days, which pushes average daily temperatures higher overall and impacts human health,[ including lost sleep](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/climate-change-may-affect-our-ability-to-get-a-good-nights-sleep-180980170/). London Meteorologist Scott Duncan, who posts climate facts and commentary on social media, made an [Instagram video parodying skeptics](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ce%5FPFVNjwyt/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=) who dismissed the European heat wave as normal summer weather. “We’re breaking all-time records in June. Does that mean nothing?” he asks, sardonically. “It’s never been this hot so early in the year. And we can’t compare this to July and August because it’s just not the same. But you’re quite happy just to call it ‘summer’?” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6190496/heat-waves-summer-2022-starting-early/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6190496/heat-waves-summer-2022-starting-early/"},"headline":"Summers Are Becoming Unbearably Hot Before They Even Start","datePublished":"2022-06-23T20:54:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T14:25:17.203Z","description":"\"It’s never been this hot so early in the year\"","url":"https://time.com/6190496/heat-waves-summer-2022-starting-early/","keywords":["extreme weather","climate change","climate","europe","healthscienceclimate","Climate Is Everything"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6e8b610eecac00a/698a332286f68e10676f15ab/heat-wave-europe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Emily Barone","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/emily-barone/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6e8b610eecac00a/698a332286f68e10676f15ab/heat-wave-europe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FRANCE-WEATHER-HEAT","caption":"People cool off at a water fountain in Perpignan, a city in southern France on June 17, 2022, amid sweltering temperatures.","creditText":"Raymond Roig—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/extreme-weather/","name":"extreme weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6190496/heat-waves-summer-2022-starting-early/","name":"Summers Are Becoming Unbearably Hot Before They Even Start"}}]}] ```