On the whole, however, its findings support the evidence presented by the basic science: warmer air makes heat waves and droughts more intense; warmer air also holds more water vapor, which increases the risk of destructive floods.

As Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton University climate scientist and the lead author of the report, said: “A hotter, moister atmosphere is an atmosphere primed to trigger disasters.”

History is full of sad stories of humanity’s inability to see the writing on the wall — overplowing that helped produce the Dust Bowl, overfishing that has depopulated the oceans. The heat wave is merely the latest of many weather-related messages that should be easy to read.