Floods, fires, storms and droughts are all upending lives around the globe. And at the centre of it all is a warming planet. Heat – is the driving force.

We are living through the Earth’s hottest month on record. Extreme heat has led to flash floods and property destruction in northern Italy and the Balkans, and fueled wildfires in Croatia and Greece.

Nova Scotia’s dealing with historic flooding, much of B-C is engulfed in wildfires and parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest territories are under heat warnings.

Our guest today warns: heat and the chaos it can unleash is serious and often deadly.

Jeff Goodell is a climate reporter and contributing editor of Rolling Stone magazine. He’s also the author of the book The Heat will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.

For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts