The intense heat engulfing much of southern Europe and other parts of the world would have been impossible without man-made climate change, according to new research.
Scientists at the World Weather Initiative have analyzed the latest data on the record temperatures being recorded in North America and China, as well as Europe. They have concluded that without global warming caused by human activity like burning fossil fuels, this month's weather events would have been "extremely rare."
A firefighter walks next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near the village of Vati, on Rhodes. /Nicolas Economou/Reuters
"Not surprising”
Deadly heatwaves are continuing to bring havoc to many parts of the world. Thousands of tourists are being evacuated from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu, where devastating wildfires are entering their second week. In the U.S. meteorologists say Phoenix, Arizona is on course to be the first major city to see daily temperatures average over 100F for an entire month.
In China, which has just recorded its highest ever temperature of almost 126F in Xinjiang province, researchers say intense heat is now fifty times more likely due to the climate crisis.
"As long as we keep burning fossil fuels we will see more and more of these extremes," said report author Friederike Otto, of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change in London. "It's not surprising from a climatological point of view, that these events are happening at the same time."
Locals prepare to tackle a wildfire approaching the village of Masari, on Rhodes, Greece. /Nicolas Economou/Reuters
Economic threat
Also on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund warned of the effect of the warming planet on the most vulnerable economies in its latest World Economic Outlook.
Citing the example of Argentina, where a prolonged financial crisis has been worsened by drought, IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said some countries were finding it "very, very difficult" to meet the challenge.
"When you're in a situation that is fiscally fragile to start with, where you don't have a lot of room, and you get bad news....then of course the situation becomes more difficult," he explained.
The IMF has called for what Gourinchas calls "a multilateral approach to climate that can only be dealt with in a global sense."
Another of the authors of the WWI report says that with climate change now a reality in much of the world, the imperative is on governments to act.
"This includes urban planning and bolstering resilience of critical systems" said Julie Arrighi, of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. "It is crucial to scale up warning systems, heat action plans and investments in long-term adaptation measures."
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