The UN issued an advisory on Tuesday advising people to make their own “contingency plans” to deal with excessive temperatures day and night in order to be ready for more stronger heatwaves.
“So we are seeing continuing growth in the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves and this is entirely consistent with the science of global warming and IPCC reports. These events will continue to grow in intensity and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves”, said John Nairn, Extreme weather and climate specialist, an expert with the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Experts contend that glasshouse gases that trap heat are to blame for climate change.
A large portion of the sun’s rays are kept from reflecting back into space by gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
“One of the noticeable phenomena that we’ve seen is that the growth in simultaneous heatwaves around the northern hemisphere has increased six fold since the 1980s. This trend shows no sign of decreasing. It’s also worth noting for the current event that July and August are the most critical months for extreme heatwaves. We’ve already seen them impact Asia, North and Central America, Africa, the Middle East and now Europe. So I’m not telling fibs. It is increasing”, concluded the expert.
Experts concur that replacing fossil fuels with clean, sustainable types of energy is the best approach to halt climate change.
