Brussels - Capitals: Europe and the Arabs
Extreme heat waves sweep across large parts of the northern hemisphere during this summer of extreme temperatures, causing severe damage to people's health and the environment. According to the United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Tuesday morning
China set a new daily temperature record, and previously set temperature records have been broken in many regions.
Wildfires have killed dozens of people, destroyed vast areas and forced thousands of evacuations in parts of the Mediterranean, including Algeria, Greece, Italy and Spain.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, which monitors climate change, recorded a significant increase in the intensity and emissions of forest fires in the eastern Mediterranean during the second half of July, particularly in Greece.
It was reported that emissions from forest fires were the highest for this time period in Greece in the last 21 years. Canada experienced its worst wildfire season on record, affecting air quality for millions of people in North America.
Sea surface temperatures set new records, with severe marine heat waves in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Florida.
The Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Professor Petteri Taalas, said:
“Extreme weather – which is occurring increasingly frequently in our warming climate – has a significant impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, and energy and water supplies. This underscores the growing urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible.”
In addition, the UN official says, "we must intensify efforts to help societies adapt to the new normal." added:
“The World Meteorological Organization community provides forecasts and warnings to protect lives and livelihoods as we strive to achieve our goal of providing early warning systems for all.”
Heat waves bear a clear imprint of climate change, according to a study released by climate scientists at the World Weather Attribution Network.
According to the study, which was published on July 25, "Without human-caused climate change, these thermal events would be extremely rare. China would have experienced one event approximately every 250 years. If humans had not heated the planet by burning Fossil fuels, it was almost impossible to record extreme temperatures during July 2023 like we witnessed in the United States, Mexico and Southern Europe.
Record scores in Algeria and Tunisia
Heatwaves are among the deadliest natural hazards with thousands of people dying from heat-related causes each year.
Experts of the World Meteorological Organization stated that the full impact of the heat wave is often not known until after weeks or months. France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Algeria and Tunisia recorded new maximum temperatures during the day and night.