Climate change has brought deadly heat waves – hundreds of deaths due to extreme heat in Asia and Europe

Deadly heatwaves are hitting cities on four continents in the Northern Hemisphere.

It’s a sign that climate change may once again raise temperatures to levels exceeding those seen last summer, which was the hottest in 2,000 years, according to research published in the journal Nature.

It is believed that record temperatures in recent days have caused hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths in Asia and Europe.

In Saudi Arabia, nearly two million Muslims went to pray at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, but hundreds died due to extreme temperatures that exceeded 51 degrees Celsius, according to reports by foreign authorities.

Health and security sources in Egypt told Reuters on Thursday that at least 530 Egyptians died during the Hajj, up from 307 on Wednesday, while 40 are still missing.

Heat wave in Europe and the United States of America

Countries that receive rain from the Mediterranean are exposed, for another week, to rising temperatures, which may have contributed to the outbreak of fires in various regions – from Portugal to Greece and along the northern coast of Africa to Algeria -, according to the US National Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In Serbia, meteorologists expect temperatures to reach around 40 degrees Celsius this week, as winds from North Africa create a warm front in the Balkans. Health authorities declared a state of red alert and advised citizens to avoid leaving their homes.

Belgrade’s emergency service said its doctors had to intervene 109 times overnight to help people with chronic health problems.

In neighboring Montenegro, where authorities also urged citizens to stay in shade until late afternoon, tens of thousands of tourists are seeking some coolness on beaches along the Adriatic Sea.

The East Coast of the United States remained under a warm dome for the fourth day in a row, a phenomenon that occurs when a strong high pressure system traps warm air over an area, preventing cold air from passing through and keeping temperatures high.

In New York City, impressive spaces have been created in libraries, senior employment centers and other infrastructure facilities. City schools are operating as usual, but in several areas in the surrounding suburbs, classes ended earlier than usual to allow students to escape the heat.

Yesterday, Thursday, the meteorological authorities issued an extreme heat warning for some areas of Arizona, including Phoenix, where the temperature is expected to reach 45.5 degrees Celsius.

In neighboring New Mexico, two wildfires killed two people, burned more than 93,000 acres and destroyed 500 homes, according to authorities. The heavy rains that fell may help fight the fires, but yesterday’s storms caused flash floods, complicating firefighting efforts.

Nearly 100 million Americans live in areas where extreme heat warnings were issued yesterday.

High temperatures are expected to start falling in the northeastern United States starting today, but in New York and the southernmost states, the heat will continue through the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

Counting the dead

The summer season in India lasts from March to May, when the temperature begins to drop with the onset of the monsoon.

But on Wednesday, New Delhi recorded its highest temperature in at least 55 years, with the Safdarjung Observatory recording a temperature of 35.2 degrees Celsius at 1 am.

Normally, temperatures drop during the night, but scientists point out that due to climate change, temperatures at night are also rising. In many regions of the world, nighttime temperatures are rising faster than daytime temperatures, according to a 2020 study by the University of Exeter.

New Delhi completed 38 consecutive days where the maximum temperature reached or exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

An Indian health ministry official said on Wednesday that there were more than 40,000 suspected cases of heatstroke and at least 110 confirmed deaths from March 1 to June 18, when northwest and eastern India witnessed a weakening of the disease. Usual hot days.

Record temperatures

The heatwaves come after 12 straight months of being the hottest on record, according to the European Union’s climate change watchdog.

The World Meteorological Organization says there is an 86% chance that one of the next five years will be warmer than 2023.

Although the average global temperature has risen by about 1.3°C since pre-industrial times, climate change is causing temperatures to rise, making heat waves more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting.

An average global heat wave that would have occurred once every 10 years in the pre-industrial era will now occur 2.8 times every 10 years and will be 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer, according to the international scientific team of World Weather Attribution ( WWA).

Scientists estimate that heat waves will continue to increase if the world continues to emit greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels.

The World Water Association noted that if global temperatures rose by 2°C compared to pre-industrial times, heatwaves would occur 5.6 times every 10 years and would be 2.6°C warmer.