Opinion | 102° — a June record. And yet another climate warning.

The heat emergency that Boston experienced this week hit the city with a heat dome that reached a record-setting peak of 102 degrees. Heat levels of this magnitude rarely occur as early as June and should remind us of the urgent need to address the global warming afflicting our planet.

The Bloomberg Intelligence report on the 2025 climate economy informs us that the United States has spent nearly $1 trillion during the past year for climate-related disasters, insurance premiums, government grants, and power outages. The necessity for cooling center protocols underscores how climate upheaval is transforming basic summer weather into a public health emergency requiring government intervention. Our vulnerable populations, including elders and people with preexisting conditions, bear the brunt of these sweltering episodes that are becoming increasingly commonplace.

We must pivot away from reactive heat emergency responses and toward comprehensive climate action that addresses the root causes of these blistering temperature spikes that increasingly threaten our communities. Unless we deal with the larger issue of climate change now, the circumstances of our daily existence will become a greater challenge to our health and our standard of living.

Marvin Berkowitz

Needham