A study published by the organization World Weather Attribution (WWA) comes to a troubling conclusion: the current heat wave is “virtually impossible” without climate change, they point out. The researchers focus their examination on southern Europe, China and the southwestern United States, among other affected regions.
According to specialists, global warming multiplied by 50 the chances of a heat wave in the Asian giant. Furthermore, they notice that the greatest influence was evident in Europe. On that continent, temperatures were 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than they would have been without climate change.
The aforementioned study confirms that the heat wave suffered by many countries it is a phenomenon that requires an analytical approach. Knowing the causes and consequences of high temperatures allows us to move towards practices that address the harmful effects. This is imperative for both people and environmental health.
The first week of July 2023 was the hottest in history, due to heat waves
According to preliminary data from the World Meteorological Organization, the first week of July was probably the hottest on record for our planet. The figures do not lie: in some regions the thermometer exceeded 50 degrees Celsius.
In the first week of the current month, the planet experienced its hottest day. At least, since there are records. As we count in hypertextual, on thursday july 6 the global average temperature was 17.23 degrees Celsius. Thus, he surpassed the other two records registered on the previous Monday and Tuesday.
Apart from the numbers, it is known that the heat wave brings dangerous consequences. These extreme temperatures kill more people than any other weather-related disaster., including tornadoes and flooding. To mention one case, in Mexico there were more than 100 deaths from this cause.
The aforementioned study includes clarifying data, as well as advice for dealing with high temperatures. On the one hand, they pointed out that unless a shift towards clean energy takes place, heat waves will continue to be frequent and intense.
“This could be a cold summer in the future if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels”, warned Friederike Otto, co-founder of the World Weather Attribution (WWA), at a conference. She is one of the study’s authors and also a senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London.
Regarding good practices that help mitigate the impact of sweltering heat, they said: “Simple actions like drinking enough water and finding a cool place to go during the hottest times of the day can save lives.”
The specialists stressed the importance of designing action plans, including initiatives to create cooler cities. In addition, they stressed the importance of reinforcing electrical platforms. In this case, the purpose is to avoid blackouts, in times when refrigeration systems become increasingly necessary.
The importance of research to determine the scope of climate change
For decades, scientists have addressed the consequences of climate change in general terms, the WWA points out. But in recent years, advances in research allow a more detailed approach. Meanwhile, more profitable.
Specialists have begun to quantify how climate change influences the intensity and probability of extreme events, such as the current heat wave. For it, not only use meteorological data, but also computer models.
The initiatives of the aforementioned organization began in 2015. Since then they have carried out more than 50 attribution studies on heat waves, extreme rainfall, droughts, floods and forest fires around the world. The methods used have been improved over the years, being relevant the publication of the results as soon as they are available. That is crucial, note those involved, to strengthen the discussions and take consequent measures.