A recent heat wave in Europe has shattered records, with temperatures reaching extreme highs. According to a new analysis, this heat wave would have been virtually impossible just a few decades ago.
Climate Change to Blame
The analysis, published by World Weather Attribution, found that the human-driven climate crisis is unequivocally to blame for the extreme heat wave. The scientists used real-world and forecast data to analyze the three hottest days and nights of the heat wave across a huge section of Europe.
They found that both daytime highs and nighttime temperatures during this period would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago, in 1976, when some of the previous European heat records were set. The world has warmed by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 50 years, which has increased the chances of extreme heat immensely.
The scientists also looked at nighttime temperatures, which have also been record-breaking. Europe’s sweltering nighttime heat is about 100 times more likely today than it was in 2003, the year of a major European heat wave that killed more than 70,000 people.
The heat wave has quickly turned deadly, with countries already reporting hundreds of heat-related fatalities. In Spain, more than 200 people have died due to the heat wave over just four days.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
