ClIMATE CRISIS 2024

By Damian Carrington, The Guardian - Fri 27 Dec 2024, 05.00 GMT

Climate Crisis Exposed People to Extra Six Weeks of Dangerous Heat in 2024

The climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heatwaves around the world. Analysis shows fossil fuels are intensifying heatwaves, leaving millions vulnerable to deadly temperatures.

The effects of human-caused global heating were far worse for some people, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central. Those in Caribbean and Pacific island states were the hardest hit, enduring about 150 more days of dangerous heat—almost half the year—compared to a scenario without global heating.

Nearly half the world’s countries experienced at least two months of high-risk temperatures. Even in the least affected regions, such as the UK, US, and Australia, carbon pollution from fossil fuel burning led to an extra three weeks of elevated temperatures.

Worsened Heatwaves and Deadly Consequences

Heatwaves, worsened by the climate emergency, are among its deadliest consequences. An end to coal, oil, and gas burning is critical to preventing even more severe impacts, scientists warned. With 2024 forecasted to be the hottest year on record due to record-high carbon emissions, urgent action is required.

The researchers emphasized the need for real-time reporting of heatwave-related deaths, noting that current data significantly underestimates the toll due to inadequate monitoring. Uncounted millions may have died from human-caused global heating in recent decades.

“The impacts of fossil fuel warming have never been clearer or more devastating than in 2024, causing unrelenting suffering,” said Dr. Friederike Otto of Imperial College London, co-lead of WWA. “Floods in Spain, hurricanes in the US, drought in the Amazon, and floods across Africa are just a few examples. We know exactly what we need to do to stop things from worsening: stop burning fossil fuels.”

Global Exposure to Dangerous Heat

Joseph Giguere, a research technician at Climate Central, stated: “Almost everywhere on Earth, daily temperatures hot enough to threaten human health have become more common because of climate change.”

The Guardian revealed in November that the climate crisis has caused dozens of previously impossible heatwaves, while also making hundreds of other extreme weather events more severe or more likely to occur.

The analysis identified local “dangerous heat days” by calculating the threshold temperature for the hottest 10% of days between 1991 and 2020, which are associated with increased health risks. Researchers then compared the number of days exceeding this threshold in 2024 to a scenario without global heating, finding that the average person was exposed to 41 additional days of dangerous heat. This underscores how the climate crisis is prolonging exposure to perilous temperatures.

Regional Impacts

• Indonesia and Singapore: Experienced 122 days of additional dangerous heat.
• Caribbean and Central America: Many states faced similar increases.
• Middle East: Saudi Arabia endured 70 extra hot days, including extreme heat during the Hajj, resulting in at least 1,300 deaths.
• Brazil and Bangladesh: Suffered about 50 additional hot days.
• Spain, Norway, and the Balkans: Experienced an additional month of high temperatures.

On 21 July, one of the hottest days of 2024, five billion people—nearly two-thirds of the global population—experienced raised temperatures made at least twice as likely by global heating.

Hurricanes and Wildfires

Hurricanes in 2024 were also supercharged by climate change. Kristina Dahl, Vice President for Science at Climate Central, noted: “Our analyses show that every Atlantic hurricane this year was strengthened by climate change. Hurricanes Beryl and Milton, both category five storms, would not have reached that level without climate change.”

The climate crisis also fueled wildfires across Europe and intensified a sequence of six typhoons in the Philippines over 30 days, affecting 13 million people.

Editors comments.

Our natural climate system has existet for ions without human intervention. Although seemingly quite haphazard, it DOES have a system which can be explained by the Chaos Theory and the resulting Domino Effect. Our climate system is not caused by humans, but by human Interventions, causing the Domino Effect. Unless we stop playing with the Natural System, it will eventually cause dramatic destructions.