Deadly heatwaves are scorching cities on four continents, a sign that climate change could make this year the hottest summer in 2,000 years.
Record temperatures in recent days are believed to be the cause of hundreds, even thousands, of deaths across Asia and Europe.
In Saudi Arabia, nearly 2 million Muslim pilgrims will complete their pilgrimage to the Grand Mosque in Mecca this week. But before the Hajj ends, hundreds have died while making the journey in temperatures above 51 degrees Celsius.
At least 530 Egyptians have died while participating in the Hajj, Egyptian health and security sources said on June 20, up from 307 previously reported. Another 40 people are still missing.
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth Observatory, countries around the Mediterranean also endured another week of incredibly high temperatures, contributing to wildfires from Portugal to Greece and along the north African coast in Algeria.
In Serbia, meteorologists predict temperatures will reach around 40 degrees Celsius this week as winds from North Africa blow a hot air mass across the Balkans. Health authorities have issued a red weather warning and advised people not to go outside.
The capital Belgrade’s emergency service said its doctors intervened 109 times overnight to treat people with heart and chronic diseases.
In neighboring Montenegro, where health authorities also warned people to stay in the shade until late afternoon, tens of thousands of tourists sought refreshments on beaches along the Adriatic coast. Meanwhile, scores of tourists died and went missing in the dangerous heat in Greece.
A large swath of the eastern United States is also languishing for the fourth straight day under a heat dome, a powerful high-pressure system that traps hot air over an area, preventing cooler air from penetrating and causing temperatures to soar on the ground. On June 20, the National Weather Service issued a heat warning for parts of Arizona like Phoenix, with temperatures expected to reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Construction workers drink water during a heat wave affecting the northeastern United States, June 19. Photo: Reuters
According to weather agency data, New Delhi has experienced 38 consecutive days with maximum temperatures at or above 40 degrees Celsius since May 14. On June 19, an official from the Indian Ministry of Health said there were more than 40,000 suspected cases of heatstroke and at least 110 confirmed deaths from March 1 to June 18, when the western region Northern and eastern India recorded twice as many hot days as usual in one of the longest heatwave periods in the country.
The World Meteorological Organization says there is an 86% chance that one of the next five years will replace 2023 as the hottest year on record.
While overall global temperatures have increased nearly 1.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, climate change is creating more extreme temperature peaks, making heat waves more common and intense. and last longer.
According to an international team of scientists from World Weather Attribution (WWA), on global average, a heat wave that would have occurred once every 10 years in pre-industrial times now occurs every 2.8 times in 10 years and temperatures will be 1.2 degrees Celsius hotter.
Scientists say heat waves will continue to increase if the world continues to emit climate-warming emissions from burning fossil fuels. According to WWA, if the world reaches 2 degrees Celsius of warming, heat waves will occur on average 5.6 times in 10 years and be 2.6 degrees Celsius hotter.