Severe heatwaves around the world suggest that summer 2024 could become the hottest summer in 2,000 years.
By the end of this week, nearly two million Muslims will conclude their Hajj pilgrimage at the Great Mosque in Mecca. However, according to The Guardian, there have been over 1,000 deaths as temperatures soared to nearly 52 degrees Celsius in Mecca.
Over 1,000 Hajj pilgrims died as temperatures reached nearly 52 degrees Celsius in Mecca. (Photo: news.abs-cbn.com).
From Portugal to Greece and along the northern coast of Europe, numerous forest fires have also erupted due to “terrifyingly” high temperatures, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In response to the extreme heat, many countries around the world have implemented emergency services and policies. However, according to Straits Times, all solutions are merely temporary unless humanity undergoes significant changes.
Tens of Thousands of Deaths?
This summer, many tourists in Europe have died or gone missing due to dangerous heat. On June 17, Greece reported the death of an American tourist on Mathraki Island. This was the third tourist fatality in the “land of mythology” during the summer travel season.
Meanwhile, the eastern United States is wilting under a heat dome after four consecutive days of intense heat. A heat dome is a weather phenomenon that causes air to heat up in a specific area while preventing cooler air from entering, thus rapidly warming the ground.
Not only are morning temperatures rising, but nighttime temperatures around the world are also increasing at an alarming rate. In New Delhi, India’s capital, local temperature monitoring agencies recorded the hottest night in 55 years with temperatures reaching 35.2 degrees Celsius at 1 AM.
Imbalanced urban development has turned many areas of India into “heat traps.” (Photo: Bloomberg).
New Delhi has experienced a total of 38 consecutive days with maximum daytime temperatures at or above 40 degrees Celsius since May 14.
An official from India’s Ministry of Health reported over 40,000 cases of heatstroke and 110 deaths this summer. However, he noted that it is challenging to accurately tally the number of deaths due to extreme temperatures. High temperatures often serve as an indirect cause of death by exacerbating chronic illnesses rather than being a direct cause. This has led to thousands, if not tens of thousands, of climate change-related deaths going unrecorded.
The Hottest Summer in Two Millennia
In response to this situation, many countries have enacted policies and issued warnings to their citizens. New York has opened public cooling spaces to help residents escape the heat. Meanwhile, city schools have had to close earlier than usual to allow students to return home while it is still cool.
In Serbia, health authorities have advised residents not to “risk going outside” after meteorological experts forecast temperatures will rise to 40 degrees Celsius this week. An emergency center reported that doctors had to intervene 109 times in one night to assist those with heart conditions and chronic illnesses affected by the high temperatures.
Some areas in the U.S. will experience a heatwave with high heat indexes. (Photo: Bloomberg).
According to the European Union’s Climate Monitoring Agency, heatwaves over the past 12 months have broken temperature records compared to the same period last year. The World Meteorological Organization reported an 86% likelihood of a year hotter than 2023 occurring within the next five years. Similarly, this summer also shows many signs that it could surpass the summer of 2023 and become the hottest summer in 2,000 years.
To date, global temperatures have risen nearly 1.3 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. Climate change is creating some of the most extreme temperature records in history. Consequently, heatwaves are becoming more common, intense, and prolonged than ever before.
According to a group of scientists from World Weather Attribution (WWA), heatwaves are now occurring 2.8 times more than during pre-industrial times, and temperatures are expected to be 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer in the coming years.
WWA stated that the measures taken by many governments around the world this summer are merely “temporary.” Severe heatwaves will continue if the world continues to burn fossil fuels. It is predicted that heatwaves will occur 5.6 times every 10 years if global temperatures increase by another 2 degrees Celsius.
