Climate scientists are warning that the world must better prepare for extreme heat waves that may be more severe than previously thought. The warning was issued after scorching heat in Canada and the United States.
As is known, recently the temperature in Canada broke the record after dropping to 49.6 degrees Celsius, and in some areas, the daily temperature increased by more than 5 degrees Celsius. This heat wave is said to have killed more than 500 people, and caused forest fires and power outages.
A preliminary analysis of heat waves found that human-induced climate change made extreme weather at least 150 times more likely.
In a study conducted by the World Weather Attribution Group, recent extreme temperatures even exceeded the worst-case scenario predicted by climate models. This forces them to change their understanding of heat waves and consider things similar to other parts of the world.
"This is the biggest jump I've ever seen. We can't expect heat waves to behave in the same way as before ... in terms of what we need to prepare for," said Dr Friederike Otto, co-founder of the World Weather Attribution Group, as quoted from The Guardian, Friday (9/7/2021).
What climate scientists are now focusing on is determining whether some unlucky regions or the current climate system have crossed a threshold and entered a new level where even a little global warming could cause extreme temperature increases more quickly.
Although the news is now focused on Canada and the US, scientists warn that similar extreme temperature rises could occur in other parts of the world. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where there are not so many monitoring stations that it is rarely reported.
The World Weather Attribution Group has previously seen strong links between the climate crisis and other extreme events, including heat waves in Siberia in 2020, wildfires in Australia in 2019-2020, heat waves in Europe in 2018 and 2019, and storms Tropical Storm Imelda. Texas in 2019.
Otto says human-caused emissions have the biggest and deadliest influence on the resulting heat waves. According to Maarten van Aalst of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the losses and deaths caused by climate change continue to rise.
"Heat waves topped the global charts of deadliest disasters in 2019 and 2020. Here we have another horrific example - unfortunately no longer surprising but part of a very worrying global trend.
Van Aalst also urged the government to strengthen the early warning and heat wave response system. Architects and urban planners should also plan buildings and city centers with more green spaces and cooling areas.
But more important is the reduction of emissions that cause global warming faster. Climate scientists warn heat waves in Canada and the US could occur more frequently, every five and 10 years, if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius.
Tags
SCIENCES