The Heat Wave Headline That Didn't Last

The Heat Wave Headline That Didn't Last

July 10, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

Dr. David Legates examines the claims linking the July heat wave to fossil fuel emissions and the methodology behind attribution studies.

When CNN declared that the July heat wave would have been "virtually impossible" without fossil fuel emissions, it pointed to a rapid-attribution study as proof. But does the evidence support such a sweeping claim? In this episode of Sanity Check, Dr. David Legates examines the meteorology behind the heat wave, explains how attribution studies are conducted, and explores the assumptions driving claims that individual weather events can be linked to human-caused climate change. Along the way, ...

More episodes of Sanity Check

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Sanity Check podcast page.