A heat wave hit the earth. Although it was already predicted as the sea temperature in April reached an all-time high, it is exceeding expectations. In southern Europe, heat waves exceeding 40 degrees are rampant every day, and in other continents such as the United States and China, the highest temperature has reached 50 degrees. A heat wave that threatens survival itself, how long will it last?
■ Europe, death toll due to heatwave over 40 degrees Celsius
Italy is currently experiencing the most severe heatwave in Europe. Yesterday (19th), the temperature of the southern island of Sardinia recorded 46.2 degrees Celsius. Parts of the island of Sicily climbed to 47 degrees, close to the European record of 48.8 degrees in August 2021. Nucha Orlando, a nurse on the island of Sicily, told the British daily Guardian, “We’re melting,” and “the temperature in the car has risen to 52 degrees today, which is ridiculous.”
There are also reports of casualties. Following the death of a 44-year-old road construction worker in Milan last week, a man in his 60s died after fainting at a bakery in the northern city on the same day, believed to be caused by heat-related illness. It is estimated that about 60,000 people died in the heatwave that hit Europe last summer, and there are foreign media reports that more than 11,000 people died in just one week. Foreign media reported that some factories ordered ‘work early’ to protect workers, while others went into ‘shift work’ from 4:00 am to 11:00 am to avoid the hot daytime.
■ 85 million people in the southern United States are alerted… China also breaks high temperature record in 23 years
America is also upset. According to the National Weather Service, heatwave warnings have been issued for 85 million people from Phoenix, Arizona, to Miami, Florida. In particular, in the case of Phoenix, high temperatures of 43 degrees or more have been recorded for 20 consecutive days. In Texas, at least nine inmates are said to have died in a prison without air conditioning. In Death Valley , famous for its murderous heat, on the day of the 16th, 53.3 degrees was recorded, and in some areas of California, the highest temperature exceeded 50 degrees.
Heat waves are rampant in China as well. Yesterday (19th), the daytime temperature in Beijing recorded 36 degrees, and the number of ‘hot days’, days with the highest temperature over 35 degrees, increased to 28 days, breaking the record for the highest annual high temperature in 23 years.
■ Global average temperature 17.17℃… It is almost 1 degree higher than the previous year, so
the global temperature is also soaring compared to the previous year. The day before yesterday (18th), the global average temperature (provisional) was 17.17 degrees, which was 0.89 degrees higher than the average temperature of the previous year. On the 6th of this month카지노사이트, the global temperature recorded a record high of 17.23 degrees, which is almost close to this. Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service ( C3S ) , a European Union ( EU ) climate change monitoring organization , said , “This month until the 15th was the hottest since observations were made in 1940.”
“Climate change is heating up the entire climate system,” Buontempo said. El Niño refers to an abnormally high sea surface temperature in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator.
■ How long will the ’40 degree heat wave’ continue?
Climatologists are paying attention to the sea. According to the Environmental Information Center under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the ocean absorbs more than 90% of the Earth’s excess heat and acts as an important buffer to slow down the effects of climate change. However, the temperature of the ocean has been unusual throughout this year. It shows the sea surface temperature far exceeding the average year.
In the graph above, the thick black line at the top is the average temperature of the Earth’s sea surface this year. The thin lines shown in gray are the seawater temperatures of the previous year, and since the record high (21.1 degrees) was taken in April, it has continued its ‘high-altitude march’. Still, it seemed to be slightly lower than the peak in April, but it is soaring again this month. Then the day before yesterday (18th), the sea temperature recorded 21.0 degrees. It is 0.8 degrees higher than the previous year and only 0.1 degrees lower than the previous high.
Now, for now, it looks like there’s only one thing left to do to break the high. The high temperature of the sea, which plays an important buffer against climate change, means that the ’40 degree heat wave’ that hit the global village can continue for the time being. The possibility that this year will be recorded as the hottest year in Earth’s history (previously 2016) has increased.