Climate change is more and more evident, more and more damaging, its effects are more and more devastating, however, efforts to reduce it are not being carried out, or at least not enough as they should be.
As we know from other occasions, climate change increases the frequency and intensity of heat waves and droughts, However, in the media we do not hear the word "climate change" or "global warming", but only speak of a more or less intense and lasting heat wave. What will happen if this continues?
Heat waves increase
Global warming and climate change are occurring mainly due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions that humans emit since the industrial revolution. It is estimated that 74% of the world's population will be exposed to deadly heat waves by the year 2100. This is estimated with parameters in which gas emissions continue to increase at the same rate as it is currently doing. This has been published in the British journal Nature.
The research, developed by the University of Hawaii (USA), predicts that, even if these emissions were drastically reduced, around 48% of the population will be affected by the sudden increase in temperature. In this way, we are exhausting our options for the future. Nowadays, heat waves are very harmful for a large part of the population (especially the elderly). That is why, if we continue like this, the chances that we will have to resist heat waves will be less and less.
Heat waves cause thousands of deaths around the world each year. A major problem associated with heat waves is drought. The higher the temperature and the more hours of sunlight, the more water evaporates and the fewer water resources we have. Therefore, the impact of heat waves is much greater during droughts. For more information on this topic, you can consult the article on temperature records in different regions.
If greenhouse gas emissions continue at this rate, global average temperatures will continue to rise more and more and there will be no Paris Agreement that can stop it.
“The human body can only function within a narrow range of body temperatures of about 37 degrees Celsius. Heat waves present a considerable risk to human life because high temperatures, aggravated by high humidity, can raise body temperature and create conditions that endanger life”, Adds Mora, one of the experts in charge of the study.
Since the optimal temperature is 37 degrees, our metabolism cannot dissipate the heat generated when the ambient temperature is above 37 degrees. Therefore, such high temperatures pose a health risk, as heat can accumulate inside the body and cause damage. It's also important to consider how heat affects animals, a topic you can explore in this article.
Fatalities and high temperatures
The study has carried out an investigation on all the deaths that have caused the episodes of heat waves since 1980. More than 1.900 cases have been identified in different parts of the world where high temperatures have caused fatalities. There have been 783 lethal heat waves and have discovered a temperature and humidity threshold beyond which the health effects are fatal. The area of the planet where weather conditions exceed this threshold for 20 or more days a year has increased in recent years, and scientists believe it will continue to grow even if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.
Examples provided by experts include the heat wave that hit Europe in 2003 and caused approximately 70.000 deaths, the one that affected Moscow (Russia) in 2010 and that killed 10.000 people or that of Chicago in 1995 , which reached 700 fatalities. At present, Around 30% of the world's population is exposed to these deadly conditions each year. The problem of heat waves is a prominent aspect in various studies on climate change, including the analysis of the Deadly heat waves and their impact on the world's population, as well as in research on the impacts of heat waves.
This is what is causing climate change, and efforts to reduce it are increasingly diminishing.
