Last Monday, a temperature of 51.8°C was recorded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. A new record for this holy city which welcomes millions of faithful on pilgrimage each year. According to the most recent count from Agence France-Presse, 1,081 deaths have been recorded so far among pilgrims due to the heat. Deaths caused by heat during the pilgrimage to Mecca have been recorded in the past, but they are likely to increase in the coming years, scientists warn. A Saudi study, published in May 2024, reports that temperatures at different pilgrimage sites are increasing by 0.4 degrees every 10 years. According to a G20 report, Saudi Arabia will also see the frequency of agricultural droughts increase by 88% by 2050.
While summers are generally hot and humid in India, temperatures this year have broken new records in the most populous country on the planet. At the end of May, a new mark was set in the capital, New Delhi, with a temperature of 49.9°C. The most recent heatwave, which began in mid-May, is the longest on record in India. According to a report by the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment research group, the country will experience extreme weather on 90% of the days of the year in 2023.
Like Quebec, several regions of the United States are facing a heat wave this week. About 270 million Americans experienced temperatures above 32°C in the central and eastern parts of the country. Portland, Maine, recorded a temperature of 34°C on Thursday. According to the Climate Shift Index, an online tool for assessing the influence of climate change, these conditions in the port city indicate “a dominant influence.” In addition, a study unveiled Thursday by the World Weather Attribution network of scientists reports that the heat wave that affected the United States, Mexico and Central America in late May and early June was made 35 times more likely due to climate change.
After experiencing its warmest winter, Greece has just suffered the earliest heat wave ever recorded in this country. Several tourists have also been found dead in recent days, killed by the extreme heat, authorities say. Firefighters are also battling forest fires in several regions of the country. According to Greek researchers, Greece is expected to see 15 to 20 more days of extreme heat by 2050. In Athens, for example, the number of heat waves is expected to increase from 1.4 to at least 6 episodes. per year over the next 25 years, estimates the Dianeosis Research Institute.
While demand for renewable energy set a new record in 2023, the use of fossil fuels also reached a new mark, releasing 40 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, the Energy Institute announced Thursday (Energy Institute). “In a year when the contribution of renewable energy reached a new record, the steady increase in global energy demand means that the share of fossil fuels has remained virtually unchanged at just over 80%, one more year,” Simon Virley of KPMG told British daily The Guardian. Demand for fossil fuels appears to be plateauing in rich countries, but it continues to increase in the Global South, the report notes.
