Currently in Chicago — July 22, 2024: A sunny start to the week

The weather, currently.

We had a clear and warm weekend, and that pattern will continue through Monday. We’ll have a moderate low of 67 with a few clouds overnight, then Monday will be deliciously sunny with a high in the upper 70s. Clouds will begin gathering Monday night, and we could see a hot and stormy Tuesday.

It’s been a treat to have all the windows open in mid July. My poor waterlogged garden finally got a chance to dry out; I’m hoping for a few warm days to encourage the tomatoes to ripen. Meanwhile, the zucchini train just keeps chugging along.

— Katje Sabin

What you can do, currently.

A Media Matters analysis found that last year — the hottest calendar year on record — network coverage of climate actually declined in the US. What’s worse, just 12% of reports about climate change mentioned fossil fuels as the driving cause. The media still reported on extreme weather, but stopped short of making the climate connection.

Independent climate journalism like Currently is needed more than ever. And this year, with all of these weather warnings already underway, we’ll unfortunately have plenty of opportunities to do better.