The dangerous heat waves currently plaguing the North American and European continents would be “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change.
The dangerous heat waves currently plaguing North America and Europe would be “virtually impossible” without anthropogenic, or human-caused, climate change, according to a new report.
Intense weeks-long heat waves have been continuously breaking heat records on both continents, with no relief in sight. In Europe, prolonged sizzling temperatures are expected in countries like Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland, the European Space Agency announced last week. Regions in the U.S. that have been experiencing record-breaking heat, including the Southwest and Southeast, will continue to experience scorching temperatures for the foreseeable future, forecasts show.
The heat waves occurring in Europe, North America and China throughout July would not have been possible without global warming, according to a rapid attribution analysis by World Weather Attribution, an academic collaboration that uses weather observations and climate models to calculate how climate change influences the intensity and likelihood of extreme weather events.
Temperatures have skyrocketed to 45 degrees Celsius — or 113 degrees Fahrenheit — in some regions, prompting heat alerts, wildfires and heat-related hospital admissions and deaths, the researchers said.
The recent heat waves are no longer considered “unusual,” as the continued warming from greenhouse gas emissions will cause future heat waves to be even hotter unless emissions are drastically cut, according to the report.
