Heatwaves

The extreme heat affecting Iberia this week has led to temperatures peaking at over 40C in some parts of Spain over the past days – that’s 7-9C above the seasonal average in some locations like Andalucia. The hot and dry weather has worsened the drought issues across the region, with many water reservoirs recording extremely low levels of storage at the start of the summer season, following a very dry winter (especially January/February) and a very dry May too. Spain generates more than 10% of its electricity from hydropower plants, so this will have some serious implications for energy production and availability/prices.

From wildfires to glacier collapses, a flurry of extreme heat events has led to deaths and disrupted lives since the start of July.

Union representatives around the country say they’re worried about the number of UPS workers who have needed medical treatment for heat illness this summer.

More than a dozen UPS employees and union leaders say this year more workers seem to be getting sick and have been hospitalized because of the heat than ever before. In response, they are demanding that the company put more safety measures in place.

Last year, the city appointed Eleni Myrivili as its chief heat officer. Her job is to find ways for the Greek capital to cope with ever hotter heatwaves. She is the first and only person in Europe to hold such a position.

Temperatures this week have already hit a scorching 40°C and Athens has launched its first 'Heat Alert' warning residents and visitors of the extreme weather. It's all part of the city's plan to deal with the reality of increasingly extreme weather.

summers? "We've been focusing on three different pillars of actions," Myrivili explains.

The first is focused on raising awareness of the dangers. Athens is analysing data to categorise heatwaves which should lead to the creation of three categories: high, medium and low risk to health.

The second pillar involves ensuring that people are prepared to deal with extreme heat.  "We have [outlined] several ways of protecting the most vulnerable during heatwaves and of supporting the people that are more exposed to extreme heat," Athens' heat officer says.

Finally, Athens is putting in place significant green infrastructure improvements to help reduce heat. A project is underway to harness water from an ancient, underground Roman aqueduct in order to green the city.

The "Asian century" has barely begun -- but it is already in peril from global heating.

Rising sea levels and extreme weather pose grave threats to the islands, coastal cities and tropical zones of a vast region where more than half of humanity lives. Climbing global temperatures threaten food security, life expectancy and national economies.

Thirteen major port cities in Asia are among the 20 metropolises facing the largest annual losses from flooding, according to an OECD study. Guangzhou, China's southern trade hub, could lose $13 million per year through 2050 if sea levels rise by 0.2 meters.

Global warming also threatens industries critical to poorer parts of Asia. Lower crop yields would have a devastating effect on Southeast Asia, where agriculture comprises 10.3% of gross domestic product.

The Asian Development Bank forecasts the regional fisheries industry would be badly hit, as rising temperatures kill coral reefs. Fisheries would suffer an estimated $57.98 billion loss by 2050 -- even if the world manages to cap temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels

More than 3,500 disasters were recorded in 2000-2009 globally, nearly five times more than recorded 50 years ago, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

China has borne the most floods, storms, landslides and droughts, with nearly 500 disasters since 2000. Monsoon-prone India and the Philippines follow with 333 and 290, respectively.

The World Health Organization attributes over 150,000 deaths annually to climate change, and expects 250,000 more per year between 2030 and 2050. In this scenario, Asia alone would suffer more than 64,000 additional deaths from heatstroke, undernutrition, malaria, dengue and diarrhea in 2030. Only Africa would be worse affected.

Developing countries account for almost all deaths related to weather and climate hazards, according to the World Meteorological Organization. In the Philippines, the World Food Program found that 15 times as many infants died in the two years after typhoons as perished during them.

Rice is central to food fears in a region already home to 265 million who struggle to get enough to eat, according to the U.N. World Food Program. More than 72% of Southeast Asians surveyed last year by Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute think tank believe climate change threatens food security.

Au nord comme au sud, juillet 2021 a été le mois le plus chaud jamais enregistré en Afrique selon l’Agence nationale océanique et atmosphérique américaine. Une situation surtout subie à cause de l’irresponsabilité des pays riches, dénonce le journal sud-africain The Continent.

Si les conséquences du changement climatique sont partagées par tous, les responsabilités, elles, ne le sont pas. “Les 1 % les plus riches polluent plus que les 50 % les plus pauvres”, pointe du doigt l’hebdomadaire, avant de dresser un parallèle avec la gestion du Covid-19. “Les pays qui ont stocké des vaccins contre le Covid-19 sont aussi ceux qui sont responsables de la plupart des émissions de dioxyde de carbone.”