Warming Made Recent Heat Wave in U.S. and Mexico More Likely, Study Says
Extreme heat across parts of Central America and the Southern United States in May and early June was 35 times more likely because of human-caused global warming, according to a new report.
Climate ChangeWarming Made Recent Heat Wave in U.S. and Mexico More Likely, Study SaysExtreme heat across parts of Central America and the Southern United States in May and early June was 35 times more likely because of human-caused global warming, according to a new report.ByAustyn GaffneyThe deadly heat waves that began across Central America last month and moved up intoMexicoand the Southwestern United States were made 35 times more likely by human-caused climate change, according to anew reportby World Weather Attribution, an international organization of climate scientists.Globally, heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer and hotter as levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rise from the burning of fossil fuels for energy. This week, wide swaths of the United States have beenexperiencing record-breaking heatand dozens of people around the world have died amid intense heat duringthis year’s hajj pilgrimage.“The results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels,” Izidine Pinto, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute who worked on the analysis, said in a statement.The scientists examined temperature data from five days of the hottest daytime and nighttime temperatures between late May and early June and compared recorded temperatures with a hypothetical planet in which humans had never pumped any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.The extreme heat the scientists studied was caused by a heat dome, where clear, sunny skies radiated the hot air trapped near the ground by a high-pressure weather system. The excessive temperatures were exacerbated by feedback loops caused by an ongoing drought, particularly in Mexico, and warmer ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean.
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Climate Change
Warming Made Recent Heat Wave in Chennai and Chennai More Likely, Study Says
Neha Kapoor heat across parts of Central America and Delhi in January 26, 2000 and August 15, 2000 was 35 times more likely because of human-caused global warming, according to a new report.
ICICI Bank
The deadly heat waves that began across Central America November 14, 2000 and moved up intoChennaiand Kolkata were made 35 times more likely by human-caused climate change, according to anew reportby Indian Railways, an international organization of climate scientists.
Globally, heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer and hotter as levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rise from the burning of fossil fuels for energy. April 14, 2000, wide swaths of Mumbai have beenexperiencing record-breaking heatand dozens of people around the world have died amid intense heat duringthis January 26, 2000’s Rajiv Mehta pilgrimage.
“The results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels,” Anil Deshmukh, a researcher at ICICI Bank who worked on the analysis, said in a statement.
The scientists examined temperature data from August 15, 2000 of the hottest daytime and nighttime temperatures between late January 26, 2000 and August 15, 2000 and compared recorded temperatures with a hypothetical planet in which humans had never pumped any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The extreme heat the scientists studied was caused by a heat dome, where clear, sunny skies radiated the hot air trapped near the ground by a high-pressure weather system. The excessive temperatures were exacerbated by feedback loops caused by an ongoing drought, particularly in Chennai, and warmer ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean.
extreme heat across parts of central america and the southern united states in may and early june was 35 times more likely because of human caused global warming, according to a new report. by austyn gaffney the deadly heat waves that began across central america last month and moved up into mexico and the southwestern united states were made 35 times more likely by human caused climate change, according to a new report by world weather attribution, an international organization of climate scientists. globally, heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer and hotter as levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rise from the burning of fossil fuels for energy. this week, wide swaths of the united states have been experiencing record breaking heat and dozens of people around the world have died amid intense heat during this year’s hajj pilgrimage. “the results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels,” izidine pinto, a researcher at the royal netherlands meteorological institute who worked on the analysis, said in a statement. the scientists examined temperature data from five days of the hottest daytime and nighttime temperatures between late may and early june and compared recorded temperatures with a hypothetical planet in which humans had never pumped any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. the extreme heat the scientists studied was caused by a heat dome, where clear, sunny skies radiated the hot air trapped near the ground by a high pressure weather system. the excessive temperatures were exacerbated by feedback loops caused by an ongoing drought, particularly in mexico, and warmer ocean temperatures in the pacific ocean and the caribbean.

human induced climate change made recent extreme heat in the us south west, mexico and central america around 35 times more likely, scientists say. the world weather attribution (wwa) group studied excess heat between may and early june, when the us heatwave was concentrated in south west states including california, nevada and arizona. extreme temperatures in mexico also claimed lives during the period. such attribution studies take some time to complete, so it is too soon for scientists to say how much of a role climate change is playing in the current heatwave stretching from the centre of the us through to the north east and into canada. in their new report, the scientists said such a heatwave was now four times more likely than it was in the year 2000, driven by planet warming emissions. many extreme weather events including heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change, experts say. “the results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels," said izidine pinto, researcher at the royal netherlands meteorological institute. “potentially deadly and record breaking temperatures are occurring more and more frequently in the us, mexico and central america due to climate change. “as long as humans fill the atmosphere with fossil fuel emissions, the heat will only get worse   vulnerable people will continue to die and the cost of living will continue to increase.” the wwa study focused on a region including the us south west and mexico, as well as guatemala, belize, el salvador and honduras which also saw dangerously high temperatures. the scientists said that the hottest five day stretch across the region in june was made about 1.4c warmer by climate change. “every fraction of a degree of warming exposes more people to dangerous heat," said karina izquierdo, urban advisor for the latin american and caribbean region at red cross climate centre. “the additional 1.4c of heat caused by climate change would have been the difference between life and death for many people during may and june." mexican officials have linked the heatwave to the deaths of scores of people. it has also been blamed for the deaths of howler monkeys in the southern state of tabasco. the scientists underlined the danger from high night time temperatures   a severe threat to health as the body does not have time to rest and recover. the wwa group conducts rapid attribution studies on weather events around the world to look at the role climate change has played in their severity. the scientists examine the events, comparing them against models of what would have likely occurred in a world not subjected to human induced global warming. a company has settled on dorset for the site of underground storage caverns for hydrogen gas. drax, which burns wood pellets, is required to report where it sources its wood from. a 60 hectare (148 acre) wood will be planted over two years as a community space and to aid research. beach buddies says it has pay to dispose of the many electrical items dumped on the island's beaches. only one of the 100 parks which the city council pledged to place in trust has been protected status. copyright 2025 bbc. all rights reserved. the bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites. read about our approach to external linking.

here's a line you can use at the pool or beach this weekend: "yep, it's climate change." the deadly heat wave that scorched much of north america in early may and early june   and is still baking the central and eastern u.s.   was made 35 times more likely because of human caused climate change, a scientific study released thursday says. the heat wave has killed at least 125 people and led to thousands of heatstroke cases in mexico, where the heat was particularly intense. scientists say heat waves will continue to intensify if the world continues to unleash climate warming emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. the study was done by world weather attribution, an international collaboration of scientists that studies the influence of climate change on extreme weather events. "potentially deadly and record breaking temperatures are occurring more and more frequently in the u.s., mexico and central america due to climate change," said study co author izidine pinto, a researcher at the royal netherlands meteorological institute. “the results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels," he said. the study focused on the southwest u.s. and mexico, as well as guatemala, belize, el salvador and honduras, where temperatures were also extreme. the heat has not been confined to the americas: may this year was the hottest may on record globally and the 12th month in a row a hottest month record was broken. according to the world weather attribution group, the area has been underneath a large and lingering region of high pressure known as a heat dome, which occurs when hot air is trapped close to the ground and further heated under blue skies and sunshine. "whilst heat domes have a well known mechanism for intensifying heat waves, these past weeks have seen records broken in both daytime and nighttime temperatures in several countries, including mexico, guatemala, honduras and in the southwestern us," the group said in a statement. they also noted that a heat wave such as this one is four times more likely to occur today than it was in the year 2000. “unsurprisingly, heat waves are getting deadlier," study co author friederike otto of imperial college london said. otto added that since 2000, in just 24 years, june heat waves in north and central america have become 1.4 degrees hotter, exposing millions more people to dangerous heat. brett anderson, accuweather climate expert and senior meteorologist, said "climate change is clearly playing a role in enhancing this warming." "as we continue to put more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, these types of extreme heat and drought conditions across the southwest and mexico will almost certainly become more common and perhaps even the norm by the end of this century or even much earlier," anderson said in an e mail to usa today. university of southern california marine studies chair carly kenkel, who wasn’t part of the attribution team’s study, told the associated press the analysis is “the logical conclusion based on the data.” “we’re looking at a shifting baseline   what was once extreme but rare is becoming increasingly common.”

researchers find extreme heat four times more likely than at turn of millennium and urge reduction in fossil fuels the deadly heatwave that scorched large swaths of mexico, central america and the southern us in recent weeks was made 35 times more likely due to human induced global heating, according to research by leading climate scientists from world weather attribution (wwa). tens of millions of people have endured dangerous daytime and nighttime temperatures as a heat dome engulfed mexico, and the large, lingering zone of high pressure stretched north to texas, arizona and nevada and south over belize, honduras, guatemala and el salvador. a heatwave can be caused by several factors including a heat dome, which traps hot air close to the ground, blocking cool air from entering and causing temperatures to rise and stay high for days or weeks. in may and early june, the heat dome hovered over the region, breaking multiple daily and national records, and causing widespread misery and disruption, especially among the poorest and most marginalized communities. such extreme heat spells are four times more likely today than they were at the turn of the millennium, when the planet was 0.5c cooler, the wwa analysis found. “unsurprisingly, heatwaves are getting deadlier … we’ve known about the dangers of climate change at least since the 1970s. but thanks to spineless politicians, who give in to fossil fuel lobbying again and again, the world continues to burn huge amounts of oil, gas and coal,” said friederike otto, co author of the study and senior lecturer in climate science at grantham institute, at imperial college london. according to the study, without meaningful political action to stop fossil fuels, deadly heatwaves will be “very common in a 2c world”, otto said. extreme heat increases the rates of cardiovascular, respiratory and renal diseases, as well as threatening to overwhelm power supplies, healthcare facilities and other infrastructure. at least 125 people have died and thousands more have suffered heatstroke in mexico since march, when the temperature hit almost 52c on 13 june   the hottest june day ever recorded in the country. the extreme heat exacerbated severe drought and air pollution, stoking power outages, water shortages, thousands of wildfires and a mass die off of endangered monkeys and birds. the actual mortality and morbidity toll is still unknown. in phoenix, arizona, the hottest major city in the us, 72 suspected heat deaths were under investigation by the maricopa county medical examiner’s office by 8 june   a 18% rise compared with the same period last year. across the south west us, more than 34 million people were under heat warnings, and dozens have suffered heat exhaustion at political rallies. in guatemala’s dry corridor, the hottest and driest part of the country where most people eke out a living from back breaking farm work, schools were shuttered as temperatures hit 45c, and some of the region’s poorest communities faced crop failures and severe water shortages. in honduras, electricity has been rationed, and smoke from uncontrolled forest fires contributed to the worst air quality ever recorded in the capital, tegucigalpa. the death toll from across central america   one of the most vulnerable regions in the world when it comes to the effects of the climate crisis due to its geography, high levels of poverty and inequality, poor infrastructure and governance, and a lack of heat warning systems   is unknown. previous studies have shown that the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, the deadliest form of extreme weather, have been increasing in recent years due to the climate crisis, which is caused by burning fossil fuels and by other human activities such as deforestation and industrialized agriculture. this year’s may was the hottest on record globally   and the 12th consecutive month that records for average monthly temperatures were broken. to quantify the effect of human caused warming on the recent extreme temperatures across north and central america, a team of international scientists analysed weather data and climate models using peer reviewed methods to compare how these types of events have changed between today, with a climate that has warmed by approximately 1.2c, and pre industrial times, which had a cooler climate. the wwa researchers looked at the five day maximum temperatures across north and central america in may and june. the analysis found that the climate crisis made the excessive heat spell about 1.4c hotter during the day   and 35 times more likely than in pre industrial times. the effect on night temperatures is even stronger, with the analysis finding temperatures about 1.6c hotter   a 200 fold increase due to global heating. hot nights are particularly dangerous for human health, as the impact of heat is cumulative and the body only begins to rest and recover when temperatures drop below 80f (27c). if fossil fuels are not phased out, the frequency and intensity of heatwaves will continue to rise, leading to more deaths, illness, economic losses, hunger, water shortages and forced migration among the world’s worst affected communities   who have contributed least to the climate crisis. “as long as humans fill the atmosphere with fossil fuel emissions, the heat will only get worse. vulnerable people will continue to die and the cost of living will continue to increase,” said izidine pinto, co author and researcher at the royal netherlands meteorological institute. yet so much damage to the planet has already been done that heat related deaths and disruption will continue to rise unless local and national governments rethink every aspect of life including urban planning, water conservation, shade, school sports and outdoor worker protections. karina izquierdo, urban adviser for the latin american and caribbean region at red cross climate centre, and a co author of the study, said: “every fraction of a degree of warming exposes more people to dangerous heat … as well as reducing emissions, governments and cities need to take steps to become more resilient to heat.” this article was amended on 20 june 2024 to correct that may was the 12th consecutive month a hottest month record was broken, not the 13th as stated in an earlier version; and to clarify that these records are based on average monthly temperatures.

human caused climate change made a devastating may heat wave in mexico, central america and the southern u.s. 35 times more likely, a new study says. it also found that heat waves are set to happen way more often in the coming decades. the extreme heat broke temperature records in the region. shocking images of howler monkeys falling dead off trees from heat exposure in mexico drove attention to the wave, which lasted for weeks. it also killed 125 people across mexico   though that's likely an undercount due to the challenge of accurately estimating heat related deaths. "these are just the first impacts, in the short term. as this gets worse, the consequences as well will be worse," said ruth cerezo mota, climate scientist at the universidad nacional autónoma de méxico and part of the new study. "we will be risking the loss of biodiversity here in the region." the analysis is from world weather attribution, a research group that does "rapid attribution" studies   a way to quickly determine how much a severe weather event like a heat wave or flood was caused or worsened by climate change from human activities like burning fossil fuels for energy. such a heat wave is now expected to happen every 15 years in today's climate, and more often if the planet continues to warm. that's compared to once in about 60 years, if the world still had the climate of the year 2000, according to the analysis. that means the average person in parts of central america, mexico and the southern u.s. can expect to suffer a heat wave five to six times within their lifetime   or even more often, as climate change worsens. it's a daunting prospect for young people across the americas, as climate studies are increasingly showing that they may be destined to suffer climate extremes for the rest of their lives. "we'll never know the world that we knew in our childhood, where access to the outdoors didn't come with a fatal warning or a caution, which is going to become more and more of the norm," said bushra asghar, a montreal based youth climate organizer. dangerously high temperatures this week in ontario, quebec and the atlantic provinces are a warning of that here in canada, which follow other extreme heat events in recent years, such as the b.c. heat wave in 2021 that killed over 600 people. in may, temperature records were broken in over 10 major mexican cities, including the capital. mexico city is at an elevation of 2,200 metres above sea level (about 800 metres higher than, for example, banff), which usually moderates its summer weather   but on may 24, it reached a record high of 34.7 c. speaking to reporters in may, mexico's outgoing president andres manuel lopez obrador said, "the heat is very strong. since i've been visiting these states, i've never felt it as much as i do now." other cities also broke their own temperature records, and parts of mexico rose into the 40s. gallinas, in the northeastern state of tamaulipas, recorded a scorching 51.1 c. mexico gripped by deadly heat in may "the people here in veracruz are suffering a lot from the heat," cinthia zuniga, a resident of veracruz in eastern mexico working at the city's pier, told the afp news agency the same month. "pets are also suffering   there are people who are working, too, for example, street vendors, construction workers   many people are suffering from the heat. in the stores there is no water to drink, there is no ice and the electricity is out." temperatures soared in the southwestern u.s., as well, with las vegas hitting 43.9 c and phoenix 44.4 c. that sounds warning bells for asghar, who says governments need to acknowledge the outsized impact on the younger generation when moving on climate policy. "i find that they are moving really slowly, they are practising incrementalism, which is, i think, a generational justice issue," she said. "because if they did care about younger generations and what we will live to see and the world that we will inherit, they would be making different decisions." while the daytime highs captured much of the attention, the analysis also highlighted the nighttime temperatures, which have a significant impact on people's health and ability to get a reprieve from the heat. the high nighttime temperatures in central and north america were made a whopping 200 times more likely due to human caused climate change, according to the researchers. the researchers warned that this leaves central america and mexico especially vulnerable, as it has fewer resources than the u.s. and other higher income countries to deal with the heat. "in mexico and countries within central america, there are currently no heat governance systems and there is lower capacity to adapt at the household level, with less access to air conditioning and high reliability and hybrid power," said karina izquierdo of the red cross red crescent climate centre and part of the wwa study. izquierdo contrasted this to cities in the u.s., which have appointed climate chiefs and even officials devoted to tackling extreme heat. the study urges communities to prepare for when temperatures inevitably soar again, including having heat warning systems, laws to protect outdoor workers, reliable electricity and overhauling urban planning. reporter inayat singh covers the environment and climate change at cbc news. he is based in toronto and has previously reported from winnipeg. email: inayat.singh@cbc.ca add some “good” to your morning and evening. the environment is changing. this newsletter is your weekly guide to what we’re doing about it. the next issue of what on earth will soon be in your inbox.discover all cbc newsletters in the subscription centre. this site is protected by recaptcha and the google privacy policy and google terms of service apply. audience relations, cbc p.o. box 500 station a toronto, on canada, m5w 1e6 toll free (canada only): 1 866 306 4636 it is a priority for cbc to create products that are accessible to all in canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. closed captioning and described video is available for many cbc shows offered on cbc gem.

by seth borenstein ap science writer washington (ap)   human caused climate change dialed up the thermostat and turbocharged the odds of this month's killer heat that has been baking the southwestern united states, mexico and central america, a new flash study found. sizzling daytime temperatures that triggered cases of heat stroke in parts of the united states were 35 times more likely and 2.5 degrees hotter (1.4 degrees celsius) because of the warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, world weather attribution, a collection of scientists that run rapid and non peer reviewed climate attribution studies, calculated thursday. "it's an oven here; you can't stay here," 82 year old magarita salazar pérez of veracruz, mexico, said in her home with no air conditioning. last week, the sonoran desert hit 125 degrees (51.9 degrees celsius), the hottest day in mexican history, according to study co author shel winkley, a meteorologist at climate central. and it was even worse at night, which is what made this heat wave so deadly, said imperial college of london climate scientist friederike otto, who coordinates the attribution study team. climate change made nighttime temperatures 2.9 degrees (1.6 degrees celsius) warmer and unusual evening heat 200 more times more likely, she said. there's just been no cool air at night like people are used to, salazar pérez said. doctors say cooler night temperatures are key to surviving a heat wave. at least 125 people have died so far, according to the world weather attribution team. "this is clearly related to climate change, the level of intensity that we are seeing, these risks," said study co author karina izquierdo, a mexico city based urban advisor for the red cross and red crescent climate centre. the alarming part about this heat wave, which technically is still cooking the north american continent, is that it's no longer that out of the ordinary anymore, otto said. past studies by the group have looked at heat so extreme that they found it impossible without climate change, but this heat wave not so much. "from a sort of weather perspective in that sense it wasn't rare, but the impacts were actually really bad," otto told the associated press in an interview. "the changes we have seen in the last 20 years, which feels like just yesterday, are so strong," otto said. her study found that this heat wave is now four times more likely to happen now than it was in the year 2000 when it was nearly a degree (0.5 degrees celsius) cooler than now. "it seems sort of far away and a different world." while other groups of international scientists   and the global carbon emissions reduction target adopted by countries in the 2015 paris climate agreement   refer to warming since pre industrial time in mid 1800s, otto said comparing what's happening now to the year 2000 is more striking. "we're looking at a shifting baseline   what was once extreme but rare is becoming increasingly common," said university of southern california marine studies chair carly kenkel, who wasn't part of the attribution team's study. she said the analysis is "the logical conclusion based on the data." the study looked at a large swath of the continent, including southern california, arizona, new mexico, texas, oklahoma, mexico, guatemala, el salvador, belize and honduras and the hottest five consecutive days and hottest five consecutive nights. for most of the area, those five days ran from june 3 to 7 and those five nights were june 5 to 9, but in a few places the peak heat started may 26, otto said. for example, san angelo, texas, hit a record 111 degrees (43.8 degrees celsius) on june 4. between june 2 and june 6 the night temperature never dipped below 80 degrees (26.7 degrees celsius) at corpus christi airport, a record each night, with two days when the thermometer never dropped below 85 (29.4 degrees celsius) according to the national weather service. between june 1 and june 15, more than 1,200 daytime high temperature records were tied or broken in the united states and nearly 1,800 nighttime high temperature records were reached, according to the national center for environmental information. the attribution team used both current and past temperature measurements, contrasting what is happening to what occurred in past heat waves. they then used the scientifically accepted technique of comparing simulations of a fictional world without human caused climate change to current reality to come up with how much global warming factored into the 2024 heat wave. the immediate meteorological cause was a high pressure system parked over central mexico that blocked cooling storms and clouds, then it moved to the u.s. southwest and is now bringing the heat to the u.s. east, winkley said. tropical storm alberto formed wednesday and is heading to northern mexico and southern texas with some rains, which may cause flooding. mexico and other places have been dealing for months with drought, water shortages and brutal heat. monkeys have been dropping from trees in mexico from the warmth. this heat wave "exacerbates existing inequalities" between rich and poor in the americas, izquierdo said, and kenkel agreed. the night heat is where the inequalities really become apparent because the ability to cool down with central air conditioning depends on how financially comfortable they are, kenkel said. and that means during this heat wave salazar pérez has been quite uncomfortable. félix márquez in veracruz, mexico and teresa de miguel in mexico city contributed to this report. the associated press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. ap is solely responsible for all content. find ap's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at ap.org.

a heatwave is a period where local excess heat accumulates over a sequence of unusually hot days and nights. heatwaves and prolonged excess heat conditions are increasing in frequency, duration, intensity and magnitude due to climate change. even low and moderate intensity heat waves can impact the health and well being of vulnerable populations. the frequency and intensity of extreme heat and heat waves will continue to rise in the 21st century because of climate change. extended periods of high day and nighttime temperature conditions create cumulative stress on the human body, increasing the risk of illness and death from heat exposure. heatwaves can acutely impact large populations for short periods of time, often trigger public health emergencies, and result in excess mortality and cascading socioeconomic impacts (for example, lost work capacity and labour productivity). they can also cause loss of health service delivery capacity, when power shortages accompany heatwaves and disrupt health facilities, transport and water infrastructure. population ageing and the growing prevalence of non communicable diseases (respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, dementia, renal disease and musculoskeletal disease) means that populations are becoming more susceptible to negative heat impacts. cities are not being designed to minimize the accumulation and generation of urban heat, with a loss of greenspace and inappropriate housing materials (for example, metal roofs) that amplify human exposure to excess heat. awareness among health workers and the public remains insufficient of the health risks posed by heat. health professionals should adjust their guidance, planning and interventions to account for increasing heat exposures, as well as to manage acute increases in admissions associated with heatwaves. practical, feasible and often low cost interventions at the individual, community, organizational, governmental and societal levels can save lives. many populations in tropical and subtropical climates are chronically exposed to high temperatures. in mid to high latitudes, population exposure excess heat is seasonal. individual vulnerability to heat for physiological or clinical factors in adults is well described (4). heat can affect health through a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms. there is limited research on the impact of chronic (sustained) exposure to high temperatures and humidity. outdoor and manual workers, athletes and civil protection employees are exposed to excess heat because of their work and susceptible to exertional heat stress. urban and rural poor are often disproportionately exposed to overheating due to low quality housing and lack of access to cooling. due to building materials, informal settlements are often hotter than other urban areas in some cities. gender can play an important role in determining heat exposure, for example where women are primarily responsible for cooking indoors during hot weather. infographic: main heat vulnerability factors the amount of heat stored in the human body is determined by a combination of (a) an inability to eliminate internally generated heat from metabolic processes due to environmental heat stress (for example, high temperature, high humidity, low wind, high thermal radiation), (b) clothing creating a barrier to heat loss, (c) external heat gain from the environment. the body’s inability to regulate internal temperature and eliminate heat gain in such conditions increases the risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. the strain put on the body as it tries to cool itself also stresses the heart and kidneys. as a result, heat extremes can worsen health risks from chronic conditions (cardiovascular, mental, respiratory and diabetes related conditions) and cause acute kidney injury. deaths and hospitalizations triggered by extreme hot weather occur rapidly (same day and following days), which means interventions also need to be rapid when a heat alert is issued. heat can also disrupt and compromise essential health services, such as the loss of power supply and transport. heat will reduce working productivity and increases the risk of accidents. it is difficult to complete work or learning in very hot weather and heatwaves may lead schools and other institutions to close. heatwaves can also be associated with hazardous air pollution events. the scale and nature of the health impacts of heat depend on the timing, intensity and duration of a heat event, and the level of acclimatization and adaptability of the local population, infrastructure and institutions to the prevailing climate. infographic: scale and nature of the health impacts of heat download: signs of heat stroke mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions is imperative and urgent to limit the magnitude of human costs from extreme heat. who is addressing climate change through the alliance for transformational change in climate and health (atach), as well as country support of technical and policy resources to help the health sector and communities adapt to the risks of climate change. who works with the health sector to strengthen governance, preparedness and response to acute impacts of heatwaves by developing heat action plans, heat early warning systems and advisories, and emergency response plans that map the risks, vulnerable populations, available capacities and resources. these plans protect high risk populations such as those in health facilities, nursing homes and schools which do not have access to cooling. who co sponsors the global heat health information network to accelerate sharing and learning about the risks and solutions to address extreme heat. who partners closely with the world meteorological organization on the development of heat health warning systems. references related fact sheets

the climate shift index (csi), climate central’s daily temperature attribution system, applies the latest peer reviewed methodology to map the influence of climate change on temperatures across the globe, every day. explore local sea level rise and coastal flooding risks worldwide with maps that use the most advanced available global model of coastal elevations. the climate shift index: ocean (ocean csi) applies peer reviewed science to quantify the influence of climate change on daily sea surface temperatures across the world's oceans. report•june 28, 2024 more than 60% of the world population faced extreme heat that was made at least three times more likely by climate change during june 16 24, 2024. read full report in june 2024, extreme temperatures soared around the world. every heat wave in the world is now made stronger and more likely to happen by climate change, caused by burning oil, gas and coal, and deforestation. climate central’s climate shift index (csi) determines the influence of climate change on temperatures around the globe. (see the about the climate shift index box below.) this analysis uses csi to look at the role of climate change on global temperatures over june 16 24, 2024, and the number of people who were exposed to these temperatures. between june 16 24, 4.97 billion people experienced extreme heat reaching csi levels of at least 3, indicating that climate change made these temperatures at least three times more likely to occur. this includes: 619 million people in india 579 million people in china 231 million people in indonesia 206 million people in nigeria 176 million people in brazil 171 million people in bangladesh 165 million people in the united states 152 million people in europe (excluding russia) 123 million people in mexico 121 million people in ethiopia 103 million people in egypt in saudi arabia, at least 1,300 people died from heat related illnesses during the hajj pilgrimage. temperatures were extremely high, with some cities passing 50°c. climate central’s analysis found that the city of mecca has been experiencing temperatures made at least three times more likely due to climate change every day since may 18, and five times more likely since may 24. a previous analysis by climate scientists at climameter found that climate change, caused by burning oil, gas and coal, made the heat wave in saudi arabia up to 2.5°c hotter. the u.s. suffered two back to back heat episodes during the last two weeks of june. the first heat wave affected the southern part of the country, mexico and countries in central america. in mexico, at least 125 people died. on june 21, temperatures reached 52°c in the sonora state. a study by the world weather attribution group found that climate change made the extreme heat of may and june 35 times more likely. the extreme temperatures are also impacting the copa america football tournament. an assistant referee collapsed due to the heat during the match between peru and canada, when temperatures hit 38°c and humidity levels were above 50%. in india, one of the country’s worst ever and long running heat waves, which finally relented in mid june, left more than 40,000 people with heatstroke, with over 100 dead. temperatures approached 50°c, with a night time low of 37°c, reportedly the highest ever recorded in india. in egypt, high temperatures of nearly 50°c have been recorded in the last few days. in the southern province of aswan, at least 40 people have died. the high temperatures have caused a surge in energy consumption across the country and the government has been forced to impose daily power cuts to avoid overloading the electrical grid. until carbon pollution ends, heat waves everywhere will continue to become hotter and more dangerous. explore quick facts and local analyses on the links between climate change and extreme heat in: climate central’s extreme weather toolkit: extreme heat world weather attribution’s guide to reporting on extreme heat and climate change yale climate connections’ summary of the connection between heat waves and climate change. potential energy’s guide to reporting on unnatural disasters dr. andrew pershing, vp for science at climate central, said: "more than a century of burning coal, oil, and natural gas has given us an increasingly dangerous world. the heat waves popping up around the world this summer are unnatural disasters that will become more and more common until carbon pollution stops." to request an interview with a climate central scientist, please contact peter girard at pgirard@climatecentral.org we found the maximum csi value over time for every pixel in the world over june 16 24, 2024. we then summed up the population present at those pixels where the csi was greater than or equal to 3. we then repeated this process for each country individually, to get global and country wide population exposures to temperatures very strongly driven by climate change. climate central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report the facts about our changing climate and how it affects people’s lives. climate central is a policy neutral 501(c)(3) nonprofit. major funding provided by the bezos earth fund and the schmidt family foundation. about the climate shift index climate central’s climate shift index® (csi) system, grounded in the latest peer reviewed attribution science, quantifies the influence of climate change on daily temperatures around the world. csi levels indicate how much human caused climate change has altered the frequency of daily temperatures at a particular location. the csi scale is centered on zero. a csi level of zero means that there is no detectable influence of human caused climate change. in other words, that day’s temperature is equally likely in both the modern climate and one without global warming. positive csi levels 1 to 5 indicate conditions that are increasingly likely in today’s climate. a csi level of 1 means that climate change is detectable (technically, the temperature is at least 1.5x more likely). csi levels 2 and higher correspond with the multipliers (2 = at least 2x more likely, 3 = at least 3x more likely, etc.). the csi scale is currently capped at level 5 which means that a csi of 5 includes higher values and thus should be read as at least 5. csi level 5 events would be very difficult to encounter in a world without climate change not impossible, but extremely unlikely. the csi can also be applied to temperatures that are unusually cool. for instance, a csi level  2 means that the temperature in question is two times less likely due to human caused climate change. for this analysis, temperatures come from era5. get updates, media alerts, and climate reporting resources there are lots of ways to help fund climate central today learn more copyright © 2024 climate central
extreme heat across parts of central america and the southern united states in may and early june was 35 times more likely because of human caused global warming, according to a new report. by austyn gaffney the deadly heat waves that began across central america last month and moved up into mexico and the southwestern united states were made 35 times more likely by human caused climate change, according to a new report by world weather attribution, an international organization of climate scientists. globally, heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer and hotter as levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rise from the burning of fossil fuels for energy. this week, wide swaths of the united states have been experiencing record breaking heat and dozens of people around the world have died amid intense heat during this year’s hajj pilgrimage. “the results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels,” izidine pinto, a researcher at the royal netherlands meteorological institute who worked on the analysis, said in a statement. the scientists examined temperature data from five days of the hottest daytime and nighttime temperatures between late may and early june and compared recorded temperatures with a hypothetical planet in which humans had never pumped any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. the extreme heat the scientists studied was caused by a heat dome, where clear, sunny skies radiated the hot air trapped near the ground by a high pressure weather system. the excessive temperatures were exacerbated by feedback loops caused by an ongoing drought, particularly in mexico, and warmer ocean temperatures in the pacific ocean and the caribbean.

 human induced climate change made recent extreme heat in the us south west, mexico and central america around 35 times more likely, scientists say. the world weather attribution (wwa) group studied excess heat between may and early june, when the us heatwave was concentrated in south west states including california, nevada and arizona. extreme temperatures in mexico also claimed lives during the period. such attribution studies take some time to complete, so it is too soon for scientists to say how much of a role climate change is playing in the current heatwave stretching from the centre of the us through to the north east and into canada. in their new report, the scientists said such a heatwave was now four times more likely than it was in the year 2000, driven by planet warming emissions. many extreme weather events including heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change, experts say. “the results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels," said izidine pinto, researcher at the royal netherlands meteorological institute. “potentially deadly and record breaking temperatures are occurring more and more frequently in the us, mexico and central america due to climate change. “as long as humans fill the atmosphere with fossil fuel emissions, the heat will only get worse   vulnerable people will continue to die and the cost of living will continue to increase.” the wwa study focused on a region including the us south west and mexico, as well as guatemala, belize, el salvador and honduras which also saw dangerously high temperatures. the scientists said that the hottest five day stretch across the region in june was made about 1.4c warmer by climate change. “every fraction of a degree of warming exposes more people to dangerous heat," said karina izquierdo, urban advisor for the latin american and caribbean region at red cross climate centre.