Climate Change Made US and Mexico Heatwave 35x More Likely

A new study finds that climate change has increased the likelihood of the recent heatwave in the US and Mexico by 35 times. This significant rise in extreme weather events underscores the urgent need for action to address global warming and mitigate its impacts. The study highlights the critical link between climate change and the frequency of intense heatwaves, calling for immediate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to changing climate conditions.e

Boston Brand Media brings you the latest news - Human-induced climate change has made recent extreme heat in the US southwest, Mexico, and Central America about 35 times more likely, according to scientists.

The World Weather Attribution (WWA) group analyzed the excess heat between May and early June, focusing on the US heatwave in southwestern states such as California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Extreme temperatures in Mexico also resulted in fatalities during this period.

Such attribution studies require time to complete, making it too early for scientists to determine the role of climate change in the current heatwave spanning from the central US to the northeast and into Canada.

In their new report, the scientists stated that such a heatwave is now four times more likely than it was in 2000, due to planet-warming emissions.

Experts say many extreme weather events, including heatwaves, are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.

“The results of our study should be taken as another warning that our climate is heating to dangerous levels," said Izidine Pinto, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

"Potentially deadly and record-breaking temperatures are occurring more frequently in the US, Mexico, and Central America due to climate change. "As long as humans continue to emit fossil fuels into the atmosphere, the heat will worsen – vulnerable people will keep dying, and the cost of living will rise."

Boston Brand Media also found that the WWA study focused on regions including the US southwest, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras, which experienced dangerously high temperatures. The scientists reported that the hottest five-day stretch across the region in June was made about 1.4°C warmer by climate change.

"Every fraction of a degree of warming exposes more people to dangerous heat," said Karina Izquierdo, Urban Advisor for the Latin American and Caribbean region at the Red Cross Climate Centre.

"The additional 1.4°C of heat caused by climate change could mean the difference between life and death for many people during May and June." Mexican officials have linked the heatwave to numerous deaths, including those of howler monkeys in the southern state of Tabasco.

The scientists emphasized the danger of high night-time temperatures, which pose a severe threat to health as the body cannot rest and recover. The WWA group conducts rapid-attribution studies on weather events globally to assess the role of climate change in their severity.

The scientists analyze these events, comparing them to models of what would likely have occurred in a world without human-induced global warming.

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Source: BBC‍