Heat is the leading cause of climate-related fatalities. A report highlighted on Tuesday that the climate crisis caused an average of 26 additional days of extreme heat over the last 12 months. The findings stress the need for urgent climate action even more.
The report points to the role of global warming in increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme atmospheric conditions across the globe. Cyclone Remal, for instance, made landfall days ago, leaving behind a trail of destruction in India and Bangladesh.
80% of global population faced 31 days of extreme heat
The report noted that in the last 12 months, some 6.3 billion people or approximately 80% of the global population experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat conditions. In total, 76 extreme heatwaves have been registered in 90 different countries on six continents.
Researchers found that Latin America sheltered 5 of the most affected countries. In the absence of climate change, Suriname would have recorded 24 extreme heat days instead of 182, Ecuador 10 not 180, Panama 12 not 149, Guyana 33 not 174 and El Salvador 15 not 163.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has confirmed 2023 as the hottest year on record. In fact, amid climate change and an ongoing El Nino phenomenon, the prominent climate monitor has said the same things for the first four months of 2024.
Need for effective and urgent climate action
Extreme heat kills. Higher-than-average temperature surges have killed tens of thousands of people across the globe over the last 12 months. But the real number could reach hundreds of thousands or even millions, experts have raised concerns.
The need for effective and urgent climate action has never been this prominent. Climate change has turned into possibly the greatest threat the planet is experiencing in recent years. Global leaders need to take stricter actions and companies must oblige.
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