For these days when multiple heat waves sweep the globe, breaking temperature records and sparking wildfires across Europe, Africa and Asia, the NASA released a map showing surface air temperatures across most of the Eastern Hemisphere as of July 13, with some territories passing the 40C mark.
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Extreme conditions that, according to space agency experts, are a sample of the effects of greenhouse gases and human activity on the climate world.
“Although there is a clear pattern of an ‘atmospheric wave’ with alternating warm (redder) and cooler (bluer) values in different places, this large area of extreme (and unprecedented) heat it is another clear indicator that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are causing climate extremes that affect our living conditions”, said Steven Pawson, head of the Office of Global Modeling and Assimilation at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA.
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For example in Europa occidentalwhich was already experiencing a severe drought, the heat wave fueled the fires that devastated Portugal, Spain and parts of France. In Portugaltemperatures reached 45ºC on July 13 in the town of Leiria, where more than 3,000 hectares had been burned and more than half the country was on red alert as firefighters battled 14 active fires.
In Italiathe record heat contributed to the collapse of part of the Marmolada glacier in the Dolomites on July 3. The avalanche of snow, ice and rocks killed 11 hikers. In the UK, the Met Office issued extreme heat warnings as temperatures were expected to continue to rise, possibly exceeding record highs.
In the north africaon July 13 in the capital city of Tunisiathe temperature reached 48 degrees Celsius, breaking a 40-year record and in Iran, temperatures remained high in July following reaching a scorching 52 degrees Celsius in late June.
In China, summer has brought three heat waves that have twisted roads, melted tar and stripped tiles off roofs. The Shanghai Xujiahui Observatory, where records have been kept since 1873, recorded its highest temperature of 40.9 degrees Celsius on July 13, 2022.
“Such extreme heat has direct impacts on human health, as well as other consequences, including these fires that are happening now in Europe and Africa, and that have raged in recent years in North America,” Pawson said.
The map was produced by combining observations with a version of the global Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model, which uses mathematical equations to represent physical processes in the atmosphere.
