Temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius! An estimated 500,000 people die annually due to heat waves…Destructive power of the “killer heat wave” hitting various parts of the world
World average highest temperature record set on July 22
The UN Secretary-General Guterres made the shocking statement at a press conference on July 25.
Extreme temperatures are spreading and dangerous heat waves are occurring in many parts of the world, with temperatures reaching as high as 50°C (122°F). The estimated death toll is 500,000 per year. More than 70% of the working population, or 2.4 billion people, are at risk from the heat wave.
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU’s weather information agency, the global average temperature on July 22 was the highest recorded since 1940. Monthly temperatures have been the highest for 13 consecutive months until June of this year. In New Delhi, the capital of India, the temperature rose to nearly 53°C this summer.
The cause is our dependence on fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Burning fossil fuels produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other gases, increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases. The atmosphere absorbs more heat than ever before, causing enormous damage through record-breaking rainfall, floods, droughts, and wildfires. This is the most serious situation mankind has ever experienced.
The photos posted here are symbolic of the destructive power of the killer heat wave. In Mexico, lakes have nearly dried up and are filled with the stench of decay from thousands of dead fish. In Egypt and China, people are rushing to the beaches and cool underground to avoid the extreme heat. In Pakistan, hospitals are running out of rooms, and patients suffering from heat stroke are flooding the corridors.
Professor Yoshihiro Tachibana of the Faculty of Bioresources at Mie University, an expert on climate change, explains.
The worst that can be predicted is now becoming a reality on a global scale. Especially since last year, temperatures have been rising at an accelerating rate worldwide. Japan is no stranger to this. About 1,000 people a year die from heat stroke and other heat-related causes.
If the human race does not take immediate action to combat global warming, we will be on the verge of an existential crisis.
From the August 16, 2024 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO.： Reuters/Afro AP/Afro Featurechina/Afro
