Summer has barely begun in the northern hemisphere, yet severe heatwaves are striking many regions around the world, from Europe to China, and all the way to the United States, where record-breaking temperatures are expected over the weekend, indicating the worsening conditions due to climate change.
Heat advisories have been issued for over 100 million Americans, according to the government website heat.gov. States such as Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and California are anticipating potentially dangerous conditions in the coming days, with record-breaking temperatures, as warned by the US National Weather Service.
Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Poland are also facing a severe heatwave. Temperatures are expected to reach 48 degrees Celsius in the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, potentially setting the highest recorded temperatures in Europe, according to the European Space Agency.
Greece is also experiencing an intense heatwave, with the Minister of Culture announcing the closure of the famous Acropolis landmark in the capital, Athens, on Friday during the peak heat hours and likely on Saturday as well.
Northern Africa is also affected by the heat. In Morocco, which has been experiencing recurring heatwaves since the beginning of summer, red alerts have been issued for several provinces.
Certain regions in China, including the capital Beijing, are also enduring a severe heatwave. One of the country's major power companies announced on Monday that it had reached a record daily electricity generation level due to increased demand associated with rising temperatures.
On a global scale, June was the hottest month on record, according to the European Copernicus Climate Change Service, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States. The first week of July also saw record-breaking temperatures, as preliminary data from the World Meteorological Organization indicated.
The organization stated that heatwaves are among the most dangerous extreme weather phenomena. Last summer, high temperatures in Europe alone resulted in over 60,000 deaths, according to a recent study.
However, these extreme weather events, often driven by climate change, are becoming the "new normal," as stated by the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas.
The periodic climate phenomenon El Niño, which typically leads to global temperature increases, also contributes to the exacerbation of the situation.
Wildfires, floods, and heatwaves have plagued the United States throughout the summer. Smoke from fires in Canada, where 500 fires are still burning out of control, caused significant air pollution in the northeastern United States in June.
Similarly, the state of Vermont in the northeastern US experienced catastrophic floods this week. Scientists suggest that climate change may also contribute to increased frequency and intensity of rainfall due to increased atmospheric water vapor.
Southern parts of the country have been facing a heatwave for weeks.
By the end of this week, the Death Valley desert in California may reach or even exceed the highest reliably recorded air temperature, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Officially, the absolute global record is set at 56.7 degrees Celsius, recorded in Death Valley in 1913, but many meteorologists consider it unreliable. Swain prefers to rely on the 54.4 degrees Celsius recorded in the same location in 2020 and 2021.
The oceans are also not immune to the heat. In South Florida, southeastern United States, water temperatures near the coast exceed 32 degrees Celsius, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The World Meteorological Organization stated that sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea "will be very high in the coming days and weeks," occasionally exceeding 30 degrees Celsius and rising more than 4 degrees Celsius above average in wide areas of the western Mediterranean.
Marine heatwaves have devastating effects on local species, their habitats, and migrations, with implications for fishing activities as well.
On the other side of the globe, floating ice masses in the Southern Polar region reached their lowest extent in June.
Compared to the pre-industrial era, the world has experienced a temperature increase of nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius due to human activities, particularly the use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas).
The head of the World Meteorological Organization emphasizes the "urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible," as the current heatwaves highlight the severity of the situation.
AFP