The heat wave hitting parts of Europe, China and the United States, where record temperatures are expected this weekend, is a sharp reflection of the dangers of a warmer climate.
Extreme heat warnings were issued for more than 100 million Americans, with the National Weather Service predicting particularly dangerous conditions in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas.
At the same time, several European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland, are also experiencing scorching temperatures.
Thermometers can reach up to 48 degrees Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia — “potentially the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe,” according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
“An anticyclone – an area of high atmospheric pressure – called Cerberus (in honor of Dante’s monster from hell, described in Divine Comedy), from the south, the temperature in much of Italy will rise above 40°C. This comes after a spring and early summer of storms and flooding.” refers to ESA.
After the hottest June ever measured, July doesn’t look so fresh either. ️
A major heat wave is predicted to push temperatures up to 48°C.
This map shows land surface temperatures reaching 46°C in Rome and Madrid, and 47°C in Seville.#Cerberus
https://t.co/lEwVxkecb2 pic.twitter.com/LAyKdL4LDF
– ESA Earth Observation (@ESA_EO) July 13, 2023
North Africa is also experiencing high temperatures and the Moroccan meteorological service has issued a red alert for extreme heat for the southern parts of the country.
Some regions of China, including the capital Beijing, are also experiencing sweltering temperatures. A major Chinese power company reported that single-day power generation hit a record Monday.
After June was considered the warmest on record according to the US space agency NASA and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the heat will not stop.
Extreme weather due to global warming is “unfortunately becoming the new normal”, warns World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary General Petteri Taalas.
Excessive heat is one of the deadliest weather conditions, according to the WMO. A recent study estimates that more than 61,000 people died from the heat last year during Europe’s record summer. In Portugal, the number of deaths due to high temperatures reached more than 2000 people in 2022, mainly elderly people over 80 years old.
Consequences of El Nino
A contributing factor to the higher temperatures this year may be the weather phenomenon known as El Niño.
El Nino events, which occur every two to seven years, are characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific near the equator, and last about nine to 12 months.
North America has already experienced a series of extreme weather events this summer, with smoke from wildfires continuing to burn in Canada and causing extraordinary air pollution across much of the United States.
The northeastern US, especially Vermont, was also recently hit by torrential rains that caused devastating flooding. According to climate scientists, global warming could lead to heavier and more frequent rainfall.
Meanwhile, residents of much of the southern United States have been battling high temperatures that have persisted for weeks.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the temperature in Death Valley could match or surpass the record for the warmest air temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth.
The official WMO record is 56.7 °C, recorded in Death Valley, in the Southern California desert. This value was measured in 1913 and Swain maintains the 54.4 °C of 2020 and 2021.
Oceans. “Exceptionally high” temperatures
The oceans were also not spared from the heat this early summer. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, water temperatures off Florida’s south coast exceed 32°C.
As for the Mediterranean, surface temperatures will be “exceptionally high” in the coming days and weeks, the WMO said, exceeding 30°C in some parts, several degrees above average.
Warming ocean temperatures could have devastating effects on aquatic life, both in terms of survival and migration levels, and could also negatively impact the fishing industry.
On the other side of the planet, Antarctic sea ice reached the lowest level ever recorded in a month in June.
The world has warmed by an average of nearly 1.2°C since the mid-19th century, leading to more intense heat waves, more severe droughts in some areas and storms exacerbated by rising sea levels.
The WMO’s Taalas said the current heat wave “underscores the growing urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and deeply as possible”.
Source: DN
