This summer is not like the previous ones. It started with the warmest June on record on the planet, 174 years ago, but has continued to increase ever since. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the first 15 days of July were likely the warmest 15 days on Earth since at least 1979 (as measured by mean daily surface air temperature).
Over the past week, this has coincided with multiple simultaneous northern hemisphere heatwaves that have broken records in many different parts of the planet. On July 16, the Sanbao weather station in the Chinese city of Turpan measured 52.2°, the highest temperature ever measured in this Asian country. At the same time, temperatures in the United States reached 53.3 °C in Death Valley National Park (California) and broke the record of days above 43 °C in Phoenix (Arizona). The extreme heat also hit Europe, where temperatures reached 46.3° in Licata (Italy) or 45.4° in Figueres (Spain). This recent heatwave ended in Spain with 40 new records and the surprise mark of the Catalan city becoming the northernmost point of the peninsula exceeding 45º.
This extraordinary heat, which also affects the seas and is accompanied by extreme warming of the North Atlantic, occurs at the beginning of the El Niño phenomenon, which meteorologists hope will further complicate the situation. “In addition to climate change caused by human activities, it will push global temperatures to unknown limits,” World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas warned in May. Climatologists have been chattering all summer: The weather is pushing the planet into uncharted territory.
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that for every 0.5°C increase in the planet’s average temperature, there will be a noticeable increase in the intensity and frequency of heat extremes, including heat waves. The Secretary-General of the WMO has warned that “we must redouble our efforts to help society adjust to what is sadly becoming the new normal.”
Greece: fires and cancellations
In Athens these days, it’s normal for small businesses to close or change their hours to open later. This week people have only been seen on the streets in tourist areas. At the Acropolis, they give out free bottles of water to tourists to avoid heat stroke, except on the hottest days when the archaeological sites are closed. Though 2023 doesn’t live up to tourism’s expectations – hoteliers who have predicted a record-breaking season assure there will be a spate of cancellations – millions of tourists are coping with the heat as best they can.
The Emergency Meteorological Bulletin, produced by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, warns of consecutive heat waves from mid-July to at least August. In central Greece they exceed 44°, in the capital it is 42°. If they were peaks, there wouldn’t be extreme temperatures at that time; What was unusual until recently is so many days in a row with so much heat.
The most popular drink in Greece is the Freddo espresso, a strong coffee that is whipped to a foam and covered with plenty of ice. Tourists confuse it with frappé, another modality that was popular decades ago. Although it is drunk all year round, even in winter, freddo consumption at this time extends to all social classes and to all places, from beaches to offices, police stations, kiosks and of course cafeterias.
Unfortunately, fierce forest fires associated with dog days are common. On July 18, the fire began to destroy forested areas of Attica that survived the forested areas of previous years. More fires broke out in the days that followed. On the night of July 19-20, the nearest bonfire illuminated the capital with reddish light from Parnes, one of the three mountain ranges surrounding Athens.
A tourist affected by the heat at Athens’ Acropolis on July 14. LOUIZA VRADI (Portal)
Italy: emergency number
The maximum heat peak in Italy came on Wednesday, when temperatures reached up to 45 degrees in different parts of the country. Rome reached record temperatures of up to 42°C and up to 23 cities had to go into red alert. On Thursday, temperatures began to fall in the north of the country, but in the south they continue to punish the population and tourists who throng the country at this time of year.
The center of Rome in particular was much emptier than usual on these days on Friday. Although tourism has increased by around 10% compared to last year, many visitors are forced to stay in hotels until late at night due to the heat. “It is true that this week stood out. And it’s normal: it’s even dangerous to go out at this time,” explained one of the cashiers at the Coliseum on Friday afternoon.
The Italian Ministry of Health has set up an emergency number, which has been active since Wednesday, to signal alarms. However, several people have already suffered from heat stroke. The last, a 63-year-old baker in Padua, died as a result of the rise in temperature. Animals in zoos are also kept under surveillance. The Bioparco in Rome also distributed ice cream and frozen fruit to mitigate the high temperatures.
One of the streets of Turin on July 9th. Alberto Gandolfo/LaPresse (LAPRESSE)
USA: more than 860 records
More than 90 million people across the United States were living at risk of extreme heat in areas with temperatures ranging from 39.5 degrees to 51.6 degrees on Friday. They make up almost a third of the country’s population and are spread across a vast, dark red-colored region in the south, from Florida to Texas and from Oklahoma to Georgia.
The epicenter (and power of the symbol) has settled on Phoenix, Arizona, where they are beating their own historical record: more than 20 consecutive days above 43.3°. In El Paso (Texas) they spent 35 days with maximum temperatures above 37° and these days they reach 44°. In Las Vegas this week they hit a hellish 45°C in the middle of the Nevada desert, while in Death Valley Park (Death Valley) in California – a state that records unprecedented temperatures in the normally cooler northern region – the mercury temperature has reached as high as 53°C in the shade (62° in the sun, almost a world record).
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, authorities are sending out extreme heat alerts every morning, reminding people that more than 3,000 people died from heat-related causes between 2018 and 2020. In the week that Death Valley recorded its third heat-related death, forecasts are that that number will worsen this summer.
According to the National Weather Agency (NOAA), more than 860 heat markers have been sprayed at weather stations across the United States in the past few days.
A warning sign for extreme heat in California’s Death Valley. STAFF (Portal)
China: highest temperature since records began
The sun is also burning down in many parts of China and life outside has become almost impossible. Heatwaves have pounded the Asian giant since June, and various regions experienced the hottest cycles in decades, coming earlier and being more scattered and more extreme than in previous years, according to meteorologists quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.
A few days ago, Turpan, China’s largest low-pressure system, a pan in the desert region of Xinjiang, was already sweltering, with midday temperatures approaching 40 degrees. Tourists at the Jiaohe ruins draped umbrellas and trudged past the ancient dry-earth houses carved into the rock of this oasis. If you survived the visit, it was thanks to the vendors offering slices of watermelon and melons in the shade. A few days later, last Sunday, the highest temperature ever recorded in China was reached in Sanbao, a city in Turpan: 52.2°. In the so-called Flame Mountains, a beautiful chain of promontories that look like flames, the surface of the earth reached 80°.
On Wednesday, the capital Beijing surpassed 35th for the 28th time this year, the highest number of days on record. Many choose to cover themselves with lightweight technical clothing that protects them from radiation. “Normally I would have changed the display by now, but this year it’s so hot that I haven’t done it yet because there are still customers,” says a seller of the clothes at her stall at the Yiwu International Market, the world’s largest center for wholesale products. At the counter, he packs masks and explains the peculiarities of a genre that is becoming increasingly popular in China.
A municipal worker in Beijing on July 10. Associated Press/LaPresse (APN)
Japan: Warnings and hospital admissions
More than 3,900 Japanese were hospitalized between July 3 and July 9, according to Japanese authorities. This week Japan issued warnings for temperatures above 35C in 32 of the country’s 47 prefectures; At 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the thermometer in Tokyo was already above 30°.
Countries across Asia have been hit by multiple bouts of unprecedented heat, raising concerns about whether those countries will be able to adapt to extreme weather events that experts predict will become more frequent.
In a recent report on the situation in the region, World Weather Attribution, a coalition of scientists studying the effects of climate change, warns that heat waves are much more dangerous to health in humid areas and that they will occur 10 times more frequently in the near future. According to UN forecasts, there could be 30 more heat deaths per million people in Thailand over the next two decades, and 130 more per million people by the end of the century.
A Cambridge University study warns that by 2050, heat waves in India, the world’s most populous country, “could exceed the limit of human survival”. And “they will affect the productivity and quality of life of 310 to 480 million people,” an “unprecedented challenge” that could hamper plans to meet national development goals.
Several people waited in the shade for the green light in Tokyo on July 12. Eugene Hoshiko (AP)
You participated in this report: Clemente Alvarez And Laura Navarro (Madrid), Hibai Arbide Aza (Athens), Daniel Verdu (Rome), Ike six fingers (Miami), William April And Inma Bonet (Beijing)
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