Climate change solely responsible for July's deadly heatwaves, extreme events

By India Today Environment Desk: Scientists have revealed that human-induced climate change has played an "absolutely overwhelming" role in the extreme heatwaves that have swept across North America, Europe, and China this month.

The World Weather Attribution, a global team of scientists that investigates the role of climate change in extreme weather events, conducted the study.

Throughout July, extreme weather has wreaked havoc across the globe, with record-breaking temperatures in China, the United States, and southern Europe.

Also Read | World's biggest permafrost crater has a warning for Earth

These unprecedented heat levels have sparked forest fires, caused water shortages, and led to a surge in heat-related hospital admissions. Over the weekend, wildfires triggered by a record-breaking heatwave led to the evacuation of thousands of tourists from the Greek island of Rhodes.

According to the study, without human-induced climate change, such events would have been "extremely rare".

Izidine Pinto of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, one of the study's authors, stated during a press briefing that the temperatures experienced in Europe and North America would have been "virtually impossible" without the effects of climate change.

Also Read | Climate change: Which countries will foot the bill?

He added that the heatwave in China was made about 50 times more likely due to climate change.

The study estimated that rising greenhouse gas concentrations made the European heatwave 2.5 Celsius hotter than it would otherwise have been. They also increased the North American heatwave by 2C and the Chinese heatwave by 1C.

The heatwaves have not only impacted human health but also caused large-scale crop damage and livestock losses. US corn and soybean crops, Mexican cattle, southern European olives, and Chinese cotton have all been severely affected.

While El Nino may have contributed to the additional heat in some regions, the major factor was the rise in greenhouse gases.

Scientists warn that if emissions are not drastically reduced, heatwaves will become increasingly common. They estimated that if average global temperatures rise 2C above pre-industrial levels, prolonged periods of extreme heat are likely to occur every two to five years. Currently, average temperatures are estimated to have risen more than 1.1C.

Friederike Otto, a scientist with the Grantham Institute for Climate Change in London, emphasised at the briefing that these events are not rare in today's climate. She told Reuters, "As long as we keep burning fossil fuels, we will see more and more of these extremes." She further stressed that there is no stronger evidence that science has ever presented for a scientific question.

Also Read | ‘Really freaky’ Cerberus heatwave scorches Europe, temperature to hit 48°C