Climate Crisis Led to an Increase in “Deadly” Hot Days in 2024

30th December 2024

2 minutes read

Climate Crisis Led to an Increase in "Deadly" Hot Days in 2024

The British newspaper The Guardian reported that the climate crisis has caused a significant rise in extreme and potentially deadly hot days in 2024.

New studies reveal that global warming has added approximately six weeks of dangerous temperatures throughout the year, causing devastating impacts in many regions around the world.

The analysis conducted by World Weather Attribution and Climate Central shows that the negative effects of global warming caused by human activities have varied in intensity across populations, with particularly severe impacts in regions like the Caribbean and the Pacific.

On average, Earth’s inhabitants endured about half a year of additional extreme heat compared to what would have occurred without global warming.

The studies also indicate that the climate crisis is responsible for dozens of abnormal heatwaves. In 2024, about half of the world’s countries experienced at least two months of dangerously high temperatures.

Even in less affected countries such as the UK, the US, and Australia, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels added three additional weeks of extreme heat.

In light of these findings, scientists emphasize the urgent need to phase out coal, oil, and gas to mitigate the increasingly severe impacts of the climate emergency. Projections suggest that 2024 will be the hottest year ever recorded, with record levels of carbon emissions.

Researchers are also calling for improved real-time documentation of heatwave-related deaths, stating that current data significantly underestimates the true toll due to inadequate monitoring. They estimate that millions of people may have died from the effects of global warming.

Dr. Friederike Otto, a leading climate researcher, stated: “The effects of global warming caused by fossil fuels have never been more evident or destructive than in 2024. We witnessed significant suffering from floods in Spain, hurricanes in the US, drought in the Amazon, and floods in Africa.”

Joseph Giguer, a research technician at Climate Central, added: “Daily temperatures are now high enough to pose direct threats to human health due to climate change.”

In the Middle East, residents of Saudi Arabia endured 70 additional days of extreme heat in 2024, a year that saw at least 1,300 pilgrims die due to intense heat.

Around five billion people, or about two-thirds of the global population, were affected by rising temperatures, which are now at least twice as likely due to global warming. July 21, one of the hottest days of the year, exemplified this reality.