Climate change has caused ’26 extra days of extreme heat last year’.
The world experienced an average of 26 more days of extreme heat than would have occurred without human-caused climate change over the last 12 months, according to a new report released on Tuesday.
The study, conducted by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the World Weather Attribution scientific network, and Climate Central, used temperature data from 1991 to 2020 to define what constitutes extreme heat for each country.
They then compared these historical records with temperatures over the 12 months leading up to May 15, 2024.
By applying peer-reviewed methods, the scientists were able to isolate the impact of climate change on these excessively hot days.
“Human-caused climate change added — on average, across all places in the world — 26 more days of extreme heat than there would have been without it,” the report concluded.
Climate change is an existential crisis for the entire human family, but small island developing countries are on the front lines of the crisis.
The international community has to support them as they respond to climate challenges & global economic shocks. pic.twitter.com/KRPCD5lSeP
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 27, 2024
This alarming trend is part of a broader pattern of rising global temperatures.
According to the European Union’s climate monitor, Copernicus, 2023 was the hottest year on record.
The extreme heat has already caused significant disruptions and health impacts worldwide, from Mexico to Pakistan.
In the past 12 months, approximately 6.3 billion people — roughly 80% of the global population — experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat.
The report documented 76 extreme heatwaves across 90 countries, affecting every continent except Antarctica. Latin American nations were among the hardest hit.
Without climate change, Suriname would have seen 24 days of extreme heat instead of 182, Ecuador 10 instead of 180, Guyana 33 instead of 174, El Salvador 15 instead of 163, and Panama 12 instead of 149.
The health implications of this trend are dire.
Extreme heat is now the leading cause of climate-related deaths, having killed tens of thousands of people in the past year alone.
Also read: How climate change is impacting ocean currents
As climate change caused ’26 extra days of extreme heat last year’, the Red Cross suggests the actual toll could be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions.
“Flooding and hurricanes may capture the headlines, but the impacts of extreme heat are equally deadly,” said Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross.
“Extreme heat has silently claimed more lives and continues to be a significant global health hazard.”
