Estimating the human toll of extreme heat

Our Reuters Climate Monitor has expanded again. Starting this morning, it now provides a live estimate of the number of people exposed to extreme temperatures, allowing us to report the human impact of heat in real time.

You can see the new feature on any of our active pages, though the hottest news today is in Western Europe, where more than half the population is forecast to feel highs more than 10 degrees above the historic norm.

I can't say for sure, but I suspect we are the first outlet anywhere to provide this analysis. It's all due to rigorous research and development by our very own Casey Miller, who interviewed the leading scientists on population estimation and pioneered our approach.

By generating "nut graf" numbers to lead our text stories, I hope the feature can provide the climate context often missing from news coverage by clearly stating the dangers of extreme heat.

Stay tuned. (And let me know what you think of my attempt at isotypes!) There's a lot more coming.