Vast swathes of the northern hemisphere are suffering from heatwaves and extreme temperatures, with meteorologists warning of more to come. Image credit: Volker Kaes via Pexels.
Vast swathes of the northern hemisphere have been subject to extreme heat conditions this past week, with meteorologists warning that scorching temperatures are likely to continue.
Extreme temperatures were recorded in the US, Asia, and much of southern and eastern Europe.
Phoenix, Arizona, reached its 19th consecutive day of high temperatures in excess of 43 Celsius (110 Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record of 18 days.
Europe, too, is suffering from staggeringly high temperatures, especially across the Mediterranean region.
Red alerts were issued for high temperatures across Italy, northeastern Spain, Croatia, Serbia, southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.
New research published in Nature indicates that approximately 61,000 heat-related deaths occurred in Europe between 30 May and 4 September 2022, the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warned the public of the increased danger and risk of death in this year’s wave of extreme weather.
They also warned people of the often-overlooked dangers of high overnight temperatures, which were also expected to rise.
“Whilst most of the attention focuses on daytime maximum temperatures, it is the overnight temperatures which have the biggest health risks, especially for vulnerable populations,” said the WMO.
The human body can only start to recover from the effects of heat in temperatures below 27 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit), and as such, even slight increases to overnight temperatures can lead to death and illness.
Hans Kluge, the regional director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) called for global action to tackle the climate crisis responsible for the observable and measurable increase in extreme weather events.
“There is a desperate and urgent need for regional and global action to effectively tackle the climate crisis, which poses an existential threat to the human race,” said Kluge.
Kluge’s sentiment is shared by climate and weather scientists across the world, including Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science at the Union of Concerned Scientists in the US.
“These are not isolated heat events; this is what the turbo-charged climate change world looks like,” said Ekwurzel.
“Extreme heat is killer heat, and multiple-day heatwaves – and early-season ones – are the biggest threat, because people can’t get a break and the body can only sustain it for so long.”
Experiencing harsh weather? See the WHO’s advice on how to protect yourself and others in extreme heat.
