For three days in a row last week, new records were set for global average temperature. Climate scientists state that these temperatures are the highest in the last 125,000 years! “It’s so far out of line of what’s been observed that it’s hard to wrap your head around,” Brian McNoldy, a senior research scientist at the University of Miami, told the New York Times. “It doesn’t seem real.”

But it is real. The global capitalist-imperialist system, with its relentless burning of fossil fuel, is pushing the whole planet to a place it has not been since small bands of humans first migrated from Africa. The U.S., more than any other country, is responsible for driving the world over this precipice. Consider these facts:

• The U.S. has produced more heat-trapping greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane) into the atmosphere than any other country;
• The U.S. produces more oil and natural gas than any other country;
• The U.S. is responsible for more fossil fuel emissions per person than any of the major industrialized countries;
• The U.S. military, in addition to backing up tyrants and enforcing a system of global domination, is the single largest institutional producer of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the world.

The heat is causing suffering around the globe. Temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Centigrade) were reported on several days last week in Beijing. More than 2,000 people suffered heat-related illness—and at least 230 died—on a single day during the annual Islamic pilgrimage in Mecca when temperatures hit 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Centigrade). In India, 96 people were reported to have died as a result of a major heatwave. Wildfires in Canada that have raged for several months continue to burn and spew toxic smoke. In late June, the deaths of more than 100 people in northern Mexico were attributed to the heat.

Some 60 million people have been under a heat watch in the U.S. The cruelty of this system has led to unnecessary deaths. In Texas, 32 prisoners died of various causes in the last month in scorching cells, most without air conditioning—similar prison conditions exist throughout the southwest.

This extreme heat is taking place amidst other ominous signs. In February, Antarctic ice hit a record low. According to the World Meteorological Organization, this will have serious implications for global weather and long-term climate change. A new report in the journal Nature Communications warns that climate changes are leading to severe disruptions to agriculture likely to result in widespread hunger and starvation.

Earth’s climate is heading in a horrific direction and time is running out. As long as the capitalist-imperialist system is in power, it will continue to destroy the environment of the planet. Those who care about the future of humanity and nature need to join with the movement for revolution to sweep this system from the earth!