What causes extreme heat waves and what are their environmental effects?

Extreme heat waves happen when the sun stays really strong for a long time, and there's not much shade or wind to cool things down.

Imagine you're sitting in a car on a hot summer day, the sun is shining through the windows, and the inside of the car gets super warm. That’s like what happens with the Earth: sometimes it feels like the sun is hugging the planet tightly, making everything around us really hot.

• The sun gives off energy, which heats up the air.
• When there are no clouds or wind to help cool things down, the heat stays with us, just like how your body feels when you're in a stuffy room on a hot day.
• Sometimes, high-pressure weather systems sit over an area for days, keeping the air still and hot.

• Plants and animals can get stressed or even sick from the heat, it’s like being left outside without shade when you're tired.
• Water in lakes and rivers might shrink because more of it turns into vapor (like when water boils).
• People feel uncomfortable, and sometimes they get really hot, it's like running around on a sunny day without any clothes on!

So, heat waves are just the Earth getting a big hug from the sun, and sometimes that hug is so strong, it makes everything else feel like it’s burning too!