Key takeaways:
- The research found that climate change has made heat waves in China 50 times more likely and with the potential to occur every five years.
- The European heat wave would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, and the atmosphere made it 4.5 degrees hotter.
- The World Weather Attribution group is a consortium of climate scientists who study extreme weather and publish findings about climate change’s role in major events.
A new study published Tuesday by the World Weather Attribution group has found that climate change has had a significant role in the intense heat waves gripping the globe this month. The research found that the increase in heat-trapping gases, largely from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, has made the heat wave in China 50 times more likely and with the potential to occur every five years or so.
The same research also found that the European heat wave would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, and that the atmosphere, warmed by carbon dioxide and other gases, made the heat wave 4.5 degrees hotter.
Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London and contributor to the new research, said “The role of climate change is absolutely overwhelming” in producing all three extremes. She added that these unusually strong heat waves are becoming more common.
The World Weather Attribution group is a loose consortium of climate scientists who study extreme weather and publish rapid findings about climate change’s role in major events. Their research is an important step in understanding the effects of climate change on extreme weather events around the world.
The findings of this research are a stark reminder of the need to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. It is essential that governments and individuals take action to reduce their carbon footprints in order to protect the planet from further warming.
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