It seems that the harsh weather makes the main headlines almost every week, as disasters are increasingly exceeding the season, characterized by the number, and hitting the unprecedented places before.
Contracts from scientific research have proven that changing the climate caused by a person makes some disasters more dangerous and more frequent. Burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal releases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the Earth, as it raises the heat, warms the planet, and changes the conditions in which the harsh weather is formed. These changes occur More quickly than at any time in the last 800,000 years, according to climate records.
Below, we dismantle what experts know – and what they do – about the links between climate change and Severe heat.
The relationship between climate change and heat waves may be the most clear in any disaster. “If we have a severe thermal wave, the empty hypothesis is that” climate change increases this “,” Andrew Disler, Professor of Air Cover Science at the University of Texas A and M. Great said After hitting Heatwave, which crashes a record northwest of the Pacific in 2021, was struck by the planet It was already heated 2 degrees Fahrenheit Compared to pre -industry times, most of the thermal waves that we have experienced since then have caused or strengthened them. In 2020, scientists concluded that the intense heat in Siberia – with temperatures approaching 100 degrees in the circle in the Arctic – More like 600 times Due to greenhouse gas emissions.
You see cities in the United States 100 days OftenAnd they are not only reserved for your summer death. Some places, such as Houston, hit three numbers In February. Cities with Moderate climates You may be not equipped to respond to the new usual, and you will need to invest in interventions such as best warning and communication systems, support air conditioning facilities in low -income housing, maintain a network of public cooling centers and transportation services during heat waves, and enhance the electrical network to withstand additional energy.
Policies that prevent utility companies from separating electrical services can also protect the vulnerable population, who may be afraid to operate AC throughout the day due to costs. Forty states of it Call cut options During severe cold – only 21 have laws similar to severe heat.
Night temperatures also rise, Intensify the risk of heat waves. This is especially worrying for people who cannot reach air conditioning (End (End 35 million people In the United States, for example), or those who live in it Urban heat islandsWhere it can cause concrete concrete abundance with a lack of trees and shade in some neighborhoods, high temperatures 15 to 20 degrees higher From neighborhoods with gardens and green spaces.
It can cause extreme heat Countless health problems Even to be deadly, especially for the elderly, these Those who work in the open airand O people who are not compressedPeople with a pre -existing heart or lung conditions. Even for healthy adults, severe heat can make it difficult for the body to cool itself, which puts sharp pressure on the heart and kidneys. A A recent study I found that chronic exposure to heat is more than the age of the body than usual smoking. Between 2004 and 2021, the number of Americans who officially died due to heat exposure It increased by 439 percent. On average over the past thirty years, heat waves have been killed more than hurricanes, floods or hurricanes.
Although it has become more common and more dangerous, FEMA still does not classify severe heat as a natural disaster, so federal financing to support local relief efforts is not available. Workers unions, environmental groups and health professionals Payment of the Federal Agency To change this. Some defenders even say that the heat waves must be It was called and classified on a slight scaleLike hurricanes, to increase public awareness about the extreme heat risks. For example, a Experimental program in Seville, SpainWaves (similar to hurricanes), and classified them in three classifications based on intensity. Each category has caused specific alerts and general health interventions such as cooling centers and wellness checks.
