According to a new research published on Tuesday, in the last 12 months, people experienced an average of 26 more days of unusually high temperatures than they would have without climate change.
Last year marked the hottest on record for the planet, with researchers’ analysis revealing that nearly 80% of the world’s population experienced at least 31 days of unusually hot weather since last May, caused by human-induced climate change.
The exact number of days above varies by location. In some countries, it is 2 or 3 weeks more (e.g., USA), while in others, it is 120 days more (e.g., Colombia, Indonesia, Rwanda).
Heat-related deaths are expected to increase by 370% by 2050 if the Earth’s temperature rises by 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
For this study, scientists identified each country’s top 10% of warmest temperatures from 1991 to 2020. Then, they examined the 12 months leading up to May 15, 2024, to determine the number of days during that period with temperatures within or beyond that 10% threshold.
In this study, scientists also recorded the number of extreme heat waves since May 2023. They defined these events as episodes of unusual heat over a large area, lasting three or more days, with significant loss of life or disruption to infrastructure and industry. In total, 76 such incidents were recorded across 90 countries on all continents except Antarctica.
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