THE world will have to learn to live with heatwaves, the United Nations’ weather and climate agency said Tuesday, as much of Europe roasted in high summer temperatures.
The World Meteorological Organization said that in future, people could expect heatwaves to occur more often and be more intense because of human-induced climate change.
WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis said July was traditionally the hottest month of the year in the northern hemisphere, but it was exceptional, though not unprecedented, to have episodes of extreme heat this early in the summer.
She said extreme heat was “widely called the silent killer”, with the death toll often under-reflected in official statistics, compared to, for example, a tropical cyclone.
“It’s important to stress that every single death from heat is unnecessary: we have the knowledge, we have the tools; we can save lives,” she added.
Western Europe is sweltering under the influence of a strong high pressure system, Nullis told a press briefing in Geneva.
“This is trapping hot air from northern Africa over the region, and as we can see it’s having a pretty big impact on the way we feel and the way we are acting,” she said.
A major factor in the heatwave is the exceptional sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean.
“It’s the equivalent of a land heatwave. The Mediterranean Sea is suffering a pretty extreme marine heatwave right now, and that tends to reinforce the extreme temperatures over land areas,” Nullis said.
AFP
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