(Washington) The deadly heat wave that hit the United States, Mexico and Central America in late May and early June was made 35 times more likely due to climate change, experts from the Reference Network estimated Thursday. World Weather Attribution (WWA).
The extreme temperatures reached during this episode in May and June in these regions are now four times more likely to be repeated in the current climate than 25 years ago, said the WWA, which regularly assesses the link between extreme weather events around the world and climate change.
Heatwaves have always happened, but climate change, caused by the massive burning of coal, oil and gas over more than a century, is making them more intense and more frequent. Heat kills more people around the world than hurricanes or floods.
“We do not yet have all the details of heat deaths, which are sometimes reported months after they occur, if at all,” the scientific network stressed.
For these experts, the continued use of fossil fuels and therefore greenhouse gas emissions will expose millions of additional people to dangerous heat waves in the future.
Greece is in the grip of its first heatwave of the year, which has never occurred so early in June.
India experiences scorching temperatures in the hot season, but this year the heat waves have been exceptional, with temperature records broken.
And in Saudi Arabia, more than 900 deaths have been recorded during the major annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage in recent days, most due to the heatwave, as temperatures reached 51.8°C.
For the study released Thursday, WWA experts analyzed the warmest five consecutive days and nights of the “heat dome” that hit the southwest United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize , El Salvador and Honduras, at the end of May and beginning of June.
They concluded that global warming had increased the temperature over these 5 days by 1.4°C, and increased the probability of such an event by 35, compared to a climate without the warming caused by human activities.
“That extra 1.4 degrees caused by climate change meant the difference between life and death for many people in May and June,” said Karina Izquierdo of the Red Cross Climate Center.
Heat waves particularly affect the elderly, children and people who work outdoors, especially in Mexico and Central America where housing is less resistant to heat and people are less able to cool down at night.
