Many countries around the world are enduring record-breaking heat waves, some reaching “extreme” levels, and it is expected to last for several months.
Many nations are experiencing a series of record hot days. According to Livescience, nearly half of the states in the United States are recording temperatures that are not only high during the day but also experiencing unprecedented hot nights in June.
For instance, at Portland International Airport in Oregon, USA, temperatures soared to 44.4 degrees Celsius on June 27, a record high since temperature data began being collected there in 1940, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Meanwhile, according to The New York Times, a “heat dome” is covering the entire Pacific Northwest, causing temperatures to exceed 37.7 degrees Celsius. This is considered an “extreme” level for a region that is typically unfamiliar with hot summer weather and air conditioning.
Inside a cooling center in Portland, Oregon (USA) on June 27.
The United States is not the only country facing prolonged extreme heat. Even Moscow, Russia, is experiencing its hottest June on record since 1901.
At the same time, Canada is also recording record high temperatures after the temperature in Lytton, British Columbia, surpassed 46.1 degrees Celsius—1.1 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record in Saskatchewan in 1937.
In Mexico, a record high temperature was recorded in Mexicali, Baja California, with the thermometer reaching 51.4 degrees Celsius, nearly matching the all-time national record. In Siberia, ground temperatures have at times reached 47.8 degrees Celsius.
In Central Asia, record heat and drought are causing severe water shortages and crop failures in many countries. The temperature recorded in the capital Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on June 6 was 42.6 degrees Celsius—4.1 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record for this date set in 1811.
The capital Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) is also experiencing June temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius, even though summer has just begun. Typically, July and August are the hottest months of the year for Ashgabat and Central Asia in general. However, everything seems to be turned upside down now.
Why is the weather getting hotter and drier?
The warming in Western countries is driven by the El Niño phenomenon.
According to Scott Handel, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the warming in Western countries is driven by the El Niño phenomenon (also known as La Niña).
This phenomenon is the opposite of El Niño (also referred to as Anti-El Niño), which occurred throughout the winter of 2020-2021. According to scientists, the El Niño phenomenon typically occurs right after El Niño ends.
One of the noticeable effects of El Niño is the increase of storms in the Atlantic Ocean, while reducing the risk of storms in the Pacific. In the U.S., winter temperatures are warmer than usual in the Southeastern region and colder in the Northwestern region. The temperatures drop significantly, leading to severe cold spells in the affected areas.
However, during the El Niño period, surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific are colder than normal, which tends to promote drier weather in the Western Hemisphere. Notably, this area is already too accustomed to dry, hot weather and drought.
The El Niño phenomenon occurs on average every 3 to 5 years, affecting global weather.
Connie Woodhouse, a meteorology researcher at the University of Arizona, believes that multiple factors have caused a vast hemisphere, already suffering from prolonged drought, to be pushed to the “brink” due to the effects of climate change.
“According to our calculations, even if we eliminate the trend of global warming, the area will still be in a state of severe drought. This could be one of the worst droughts in the past 400 years,” Woodhouse stated.
Negative impacts on a global scale
According to a draft report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) under the United Nations, expected to be released in February 2022, if the average global temperature increases by 1.5 degrees Celsius—an increase of 0.4 degrees Celsius from the current level—14% of the world’s population will suffer from extreme heat waves at least every 5 years.
If the temperature increases by an additional 2 degrees Celsius, an additional 1.7 billion people will be threatened, the report asserts. The world has already witnessed the catastrophic consequences of extreme heat at much lower temperature thresholds. In 2019 alone, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), over 300,000 people worldwide died due to heat-related issues.
Gina Palma, a meteorologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, noted that the immediate effects of drought will increase the risk of wildfires occurring 2 to 4 weeks earlier. It is known that the “fuel” for natural wildfires, such as sagebrush, juniper, and pinyon pine in the U.S., is being “dried out” earlier than usual and may face the risk of igniting at any time.
Prolonged drought also increases water demand for individuals and the agricultural sector in general (which has accounted for 80% to 90% of total water consumption in Western countries, according to the USDA). This raises questions about how affected areas will adapt in the future.
“As long as life continues in Western North America, people will be constrained by the available water supply. As water becomes scarcer, we will have to change our lifestyles to find ways to use less water,” said Park Williams, a climate scientist at UCLA.
