​Trump Quietly Weakened Heat Rules​ Just in Time for a Broiling Summer

Rather than outright scrapping Biden-era regulations, the White House​ simply degraded them. Is it hoping people just won’t notice?

Summer is just getting started, and people are already dying. Western Europe is sweltering through a climate-fueled “heat dome” that has trapped hot air from London to Spain, where temperatures have broken new records and surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Seven people are reported to have died in France of heat-related causes. Weeks of oppressive temperatures in the southern India state of Telangana have killed at least 19 people—and likely many more—as highs neared 115 degrees in many cities across the region. Heat warnings have now been issued across Canada’s western Prairies. The United States broke its own heat records back in March, and a “super” strong El Niño is expected to push temperatures up around the world.

Extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard in the United States. It’s not exactly breaking news at this point to say that the Trump administration denies the climate crisis that’s now helping the U.S. smash long-held temperature records year after year. It’s worth emphasizing, however, that such denial isn’t a matter of abstract doctrinal dispute—or even just a means to allow fossil fuel companies to drill and pollute whatever and wherever they’d like. As the coming summer........

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