Currently in Boston — June 29, 2023: Better weather for the next couple of days.

The weather, currently.

Overnight any showers will come to an end and it will be cloudy and muggy with readings down in the 60s. Thursday features a blend of clouds and sun, there's still the chance for a couple of showers over inland areas but it's much smaller than it's been the past several days. Temperatures will be in the 70s and lower 80s along with the same levels of humidity.

Looking ahead towards Friday we should remove the chance for showers along with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the lower 80s. This is a good beach day. Water temperatures have increased enough that it's fairly comfortable for swimming although still chilly. Saturday should be dry with a mix of clouds and sunshine but showers are once again possible on the Sunday forecast. It's still a bit questionable as to whether or not we're on the dry side of a frontal system for the 4th of July or we still have the similar pattern with partial sun and the chance for a shower. Will update that a little more tomorrow.

— Dave Epstein

What you can do, currently.

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What you need to know, currently.

Astonishingly record-setting Atlantic Ocean temperatures have helped trigger a record-breaking melting of the Greenland ice sheet surface this week, new data show.

This week’s melt covered more than 50% of the Greenland ice sheet, only the third time that has ever happened since modern records have been kept, and the earliest-ever in the melt season. Above-freezing temperatures were recorded all the way to the top of the enormous ice sheet, more than 10,000 ft (3,300 m) above sea level. Temperatures reached 73°F (23°C) in far northern Greenland due to downsloping dry winds.

The Greenland melt was “certainly an extreme melt event highlighting the climate emergency,” according to Joel Gombiner, a polar scientist at the University of Washington. “The Greenland ice sheet completely melted last time CO2 was this high. The only question is how fast it disappears this time.”

Greenland is warmer now than at any time over at least the past 1,000 years. The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is directly linked to climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, and an acceleration of its melt is one of the tipping points expected if global warming exceeds the 1.5°C target agreed to in the Paris Climate Accord.

—Eric Holthaus