Climate change caused 26 extra days of extreme heat globally

A new report has revealed that the world experienced an average of 26 additional days of extreme heat over the past 12 months, a phenomenon that would likely not have occurred without the influence of human-caused climate change.

The report comes as parts of India reels under extreme heatwave that is expected to last over a week.

The report, published by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the World Weather Attribution scientific network, and the nonprofit research organization Climate Central, highlights the alarming role of global warming in increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events worldwide.

To conduct the study, scientists first established a baseline by determining the temperatures that fell within the top 10 percent for each country between 1991 and 2020. They then analysed the period from May 15, 2023, to May 15, 2024, identifying the number of days that experienced temperatures exceeding this baseline range.

Using peer-reviewed methods, the researchers examined the influence of climate change on each of these excessively hot days. Their findings were striking: “Human-caused climate change added – on average, across all places in the world – 26 more days of extreme heat than there would have been without it.”

The report’s release comes on the heels of 2023 being declared the hottest year on record by the European Union’s climate monitor, Copernicus. Already in 2024, extreme heatwaves have afflicted vast regions across the globe, from Mexico to Pakistan.

According to the report, approximately 6.3 billion people – roughly 80 percent of the global population – experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat over the past 12 months. In total, 76 extreme heatwaves were registered in 90 different countries on every continent except Antarctica.

Some of the most affected nations were in Latin America, with Suriname experiencing an estimated 182 extreme heat days instead of 24 without climate change, Ecuador 180 instead of 10, Guyana 174 instead of 33, El Salvador 163 instead of 15, and Panama 149 instead of 12.

“(Extreme heat) is known to have killed tens of thousands of people over the last 12 months, but the real number is likely in the hundreds of thousands or even millions,” the Red Cross stated, emphasizing the deadly impact of these extreme temperatures.

As Jagan Chapagain, secretary-general of the International Federation of the Red Cross, aptly put it, “Flooding and hurricanes may capture the headlines, but the impacts of extreme heat are equally deadly.” This report serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for global action to mitigate and adapt to the escalating effects of climate change.