LONDON (AP) 鈥� Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to consider the death of the summertime state of mind.
The season itself is in no danger; , mainly caused by the burning of oil, gas and coal, is warming the weather year-round. Viewed this way, summer-like weather is ascendant. It’s setting records across the globe 鈥� , , i , spinning up and endangering millions of people who , or 鈥渃oolcations.鈥� The heat is that Japan has coined a new meteorological category for the danger: kokusho-bi 鈥� or 鈥渃ruelly hot day.鈥�
What seems as this year is summertime ideal 鈥� lazy days, warm nights and escape, however temporary, from classes or parents or work or rules. During the Summer of ’26, people are grieving that freedom. And perhaps, the versions of ourselves we become when our senses tell us that we are safe.
鈥淚 mourn for the way summer used to be,鈥� wrote 鈥渃li-fi鈥� author Debra Denker in an essay last month recalling leisurely days and July Fourth block parties of the 1960s. 鈥淯nless we change the trajectory we’re on, today’s children will never know the gentle and balmy summers of my childhood … I feel sad that they may never know the truly carefree summers that the more privileged among us enjoyed.鈥�
In 2026, summertime is a different kind of blast
No one needs meteorologists to confirm that this summer is different and our rituals are changing. Downwind from wildfires in , the sky turns orange and the . Life under Paris’ famous gray rooftops . Nights can be , showering and opening a window 鈥� only to close it later to block out the urban noise.
Everywhere, life-giving sun hurts during much of the day. Checking the air quality index has become part of the act of stepping outside. We get things done earlier in the day and stay up later at night. And a full day at the beach 鈥� or an August holiday in Europe 鈥� is more a matter of risk management than it used to be.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Americans are more likely to say extreme heat has had either a 鈥渕ajor impact鈥� or 鈥渕inor impact鈥� on their travel or vacation plans, electricity bills, their sleep, their family鈥檚 outdoor activities and more parts of their day-to-day life than in July 2024. at Oxford University published in July found that the intense heat influences daily behavior globally, with such 鈥渆veryday adaptations鈥� to daily activities occurring across seven of the countries most at risk of heat waves: Brazil, France, India, Nigeria, Turkey, the U.S. and China.
For some, it’s a summer of discontent
Amber Risebrow, a teacher in Britain鈥檚 Channel Islands, said she yearned for England鈥檚 idyllic warm season 鈥� that period when the sunlight lingers.
鈥淚 wanted the long light evenings and the sunshine and the not-dark-at-4pm of it all,鈥� she posted recently on Instagram. 鈥淲hat I did not want was to feel like a rotisserie chicken every single time I stepped outside. Slowly rotating. Gently basting. Questioning my life choices by 10am.鈥�
For those who care to look, the data is plentiful and the weight of it is moving toward . This week alone, intense heat as temperatures soared toward 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). It was the fifth heat wave of the year in a region where air conditioning is sporadic at best. And the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the contiguous United States sizzled to its in July.
so far, this is the third-hottest year, and 2025, show.
But 2026 still has time to catch up. Thanks to the one-two punch of and a 鈥� a periodic warming of parts of the Pacific that leads to temperature variations around the globe 鈥� there鈥檚 an increasing chance that by the end of the year, 2026 could become the hottest year on record, scientists said.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not just extreme heat,鈥� the World Meteorological Organization鈥檚 Clare Nullis told reporters in Geneva. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also seeing extreme rainfall, tropical cyclones. So we鈥檙e not in holiday mode at all.鈥�
Is summer an 鈥榦utdated sham鈥�?
Somewhere deep, there’s a sense of acceptance that life-threatening, trip-canceling heat waves and their rippling effects aren’t a one-off fluke. So management has ensued, with the hope that escaping hot weather might somehow allow the return of that summertime feeling 鈥� for now.
Advisories urging tourists to limit outdoor activity during peak heat hours have become a standard part of trip planning from Cambodia to Cambridge, England. Dog walking is becoming a dawn-or-dusk activity, with governments in high heat zones advising owners against midday walks. Employers and workers are adapting, with work hours especially for agricultural and construction workers shifting to the morning, and policies in some places allowing employees to work from home when the heat becomes extreme.
But home doesn’t offer much solace for workers with no air conditioning. Only about 4% of British homes have 鈥渁ir-con,鈥� compared to about 90% of American homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
So achieving old-fashioned summertime bliss is, and perhaps always has been, mostly a matter of privilege.
In 鈥淎n Open Letter to the Person Who Asked Me What I’m Doing For The Summer As If I Didn’t Have to Work,鈥� comedy writer Elizabeth Simone addressed the issue in the Weekly Humorist last year.
鈥淵ou do know that summer vacation is an outdated sham, right?鈥� she wrote. 鈥淥bviously it’s because of what summer meant back when we were kids.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo.
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