Imagine a future in which one-fifth of the planet is regularly subjected to boiling heatwaves and blistering droughts. In addition to the unbearable discomfort of the constant heat, people in those regions will struggle to breathe. The air is going to be filled with smoke, even if the massive fires that cause the smoke are destroying civilizations and wilderness thousands of miles away.
By the late 21st Century, it's predicted these so-called compound drought and heatwaves (or CDHW events) will happen roughly twice a year, each one lasting approximately 25 days, from eastern North America and eastern Africa to Central Asia, Central Europe and the American southwest.
