The El Niño phenomenon has amplified the pace of climate change and the trend shows no signs of abating
The United Nations warned this Tuesday 18, that the world must prepare more intense heat wavesat the moment that several regions in the northern hemisphere experience extreme temperaturesthat cause fires and threaten the health of the population.
“These events will continue to escalate in intensity and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves,” said John Nairn, an expert on extreme heat at the United Nations-affiliated World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“The recently declared El Niño phenomenon will only amplify the incidence and intensity of extreme heatwaves,” he added at a news conference in Geneva.
The heatwave hitting the Northern Hemisphere continues this Tuesday, with active wildfires in Greece and the United States, as well as a possible temperature record for mainland Europe in the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily.
Health authorities have issued extreme heat warnings in the United States, Europe and Asia, with recommendations to stay hydrated and for people to protect themselves from the sun, in another show of the direct effects of climate change.
“One of the notable phenomena we observe is that the number of simultaneous heat waves in the Northern Hemisphere has multiplied by six since the 1980s. This trend shows no sign of abating,” said the WMO scientist.
temperature records
The current temperature record is 48.8ºC, recorded in Sicily in 2021, the UN WMO confirmed on Monday. “This record could be broken in the coming days,” warned the European space agency.
Italy suffered this Tuesday with the peak of the heat wave, with temperatures reaching 40ºC in Rome and 39ºC in Cagliari. In Spain, temperatures between 38 and 42°C are expected in much of the center of the Iberian Peninsula. In the Catalonia region, the temperature broke an all-time record with a peak of 45ºC.
In France many local heat records have been broken, such as in Verdun (40ºC) and in Alpe d’Huez (29.5ºC), a ski resort at over 1,800 metres.
China recorded a temperature of 52.2ºC on Sunday in Xinjiang (west) region, a record for mid-July. Japan has issued high temperature warnings in 32 of the country’s 47 municipalities. /AFP
Source: Terra
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