The stifling heat that scorched cities across India last month, driving temperatures to a scalding 45º Celsius in several areas, has been linked to human-induced climate change, which exacerbated the sweltering conditions by at least 1.5º Celsius.

A combination of natural climate variability and human factors contributed to the heatwave’s ferocity, according to researchers at the European Union and French National Centre for Scientific Research-backed project ClimaMeter.

This assessment comes amidst a backdrop of rising global temperatures, where every month of 2023 ranked among the seven warmest for their respective month, and the latter half of the year broke heat records.

The comprehensive study, utilizing historical data and contemporary surface temperature analyses, illuminates a stark contrast between past and present-day heat events. In urban hotspots like New Delhi, Jalandhar, and Larkana, temperatures were found to be over 1º Celsius warmer compared to historical counterparts.

David Faranda, of the French CNRS, remarked on the findings, “The temperature changes show that similar events produce temperatures in the present climate change at least 1.5º Celsius warmer than what they would have been in the past over a large area of the region analyzed.”

The unfolding crisis of climate change can no longer be relegated to abstract scientific discourse or future projections. It is a present and clear danger, exacting a lethal toll on vulnerable populations and magnifying the extremes of natural weather patterns.

The planet’s warming trajectory shows that vast swathes of human civilization are at risk of enduring heat and humidity combinations that surpass the limits of human tolerance, as research from Penn State College of Health and Human Development and Purdue University attests.

At the core of this are concerns over heat-related health problems, such as heat stroke or heart attack, particularly in regions where billions could be exposed to intolerable conditions.

W. Larry Kenney, a professor at Penn State, emphasized the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to understand climate change’s impact on human health, stating, “Collaboration is the only way to understand the complex ways that the environment will affect people’s lives and begin to develop solutions to the problems that we all must face together.”

With projected heat and humidity levels threatening to overtake human tolerance, calls for swift action to mitigate CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases become ever more urgent.

The implications of such findings extend beyond physical health to societal structures, including the closure of thousands of schools across South and Southeast Asia due to unbearable heat, intensifying the education gap for children from low-income families.

Climate models and observational data underscore a pronounced rise in both the likelihood and intensity of extreme heat events, magnified manifold by human-induced climate change. In West Asia, for example, heatwaves are now about 1.7°C warmer due to fossil fuel burning, while in the Philippines, human activities have increased heatwave intensity by about 1.2°C.

The situation demands a re-evaluation of global heat-mitigation strategies and the reinforcement of existing heat action plans, particularly within rapidly growing cities, informal settlements, and exposed populations.

While cities have been implementing solutions like cool roofs and nature-based infrastructure design, there is a critical need for retrofitting existing buildings and settlements to better withstand the onslaught of extreme temperatures.

Furthermore, workplace interventions to address heat stress, such as scheduled rest breaks and rest-shade-rehydrate programs, while necessary, are yet to become standard practice in many vulnerable regions.

Relevant articles:
– Human-driven climate change made May hotter, Deccan Herald
– Climate Change: Global Temperature, climate.gov
– Climate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans, Penn State
– Climate change made the deadly heatwaves that hit millions of highly vulnerable people across Asia more frequent and extreme – World Weather Attribution, World Weather Attribution