Early Southwest heat is latest in parade of weather extremes as Earth warms

Associated Press (AP)CenterEN 7 min read 100% complete by By SETH BORENSTEINMarch 20, 2026 at 08:53 AM

AI Summary

long article 7 min

A dangerous heat wave broke March records across the U.S. Southwest in 2026. The extreme heat forced the early ending of a spring training baseball game in Phoenix and prompted trail closures at Camelback Mountain. Experts attribute this event to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events caused by Earth's warming climate. The heat wave is the latest example of a trend of more intense and frequent weather extremes. The article also includes photos of flooding in San Francisco and a wildfire in Altadena, California from the previous year.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Dolores Park 30% Clive Lovejoy 30% Altadena 30% Ross D. Franklin 30% Ocean Beach 30% Camelback Mountain 40% Los Angeles Dodgers ×240% San Francisco Giants ×240% Eaton Fire 40% San Francisco ×360% Phoenix ×270% Southwest ×290%

Keywords

extreme weather 90% southwest heat 80% earth warming 70% heat wave 60% weather extremes 50% climate change 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

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Source

Associated Press (AP)

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Southwest

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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extreme weather southwest heat earth warming heat wave weather extremes climate change

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