Extreme heatwaves pose spreading threat
(Climate News Network, 14 Oct 2019) Rising temperatures mean that heatwaves will become hotter, more frequent, last longer and will cover much wider areas.
Scientists in the US have added a new dimension to the growing hazard of extreme heat. As global average temperatures rise, so do the frequency, duration and intensity of heatwaves.
And that’s not the only factor to worry about. By mid-century, the area straddled by those bands of extreme heat could increase by 50% – if nations attempt seriously to contain climate change.
But if humans carry on burning fossil fuels in ever-greater quantities and felling more and more reaches of tropical forests, the most dangerous and extreme heatwaves in future could cover areas 80% bigger than at present.
“As the physical size of these regions increases, more people will be exposed to heat stress,” warns Bradfield Lyon, associate research professor in the Climate Change Institute and School of Earth and Climate at the University of Maine, US.
Lyon, lead author of a new study in the Environmental Research Letters journal, says: “Larger heatwaves would also increase electrical loads and peak energy demand on the electricity grid as more people and businesses turn on air conditioning as a response.”
Climate scientists have warned repeatedly that higher average temperatures must mean ever hotter extremes.
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Climate News Network, 14 Oct 2019: Extreme heatwaves pose spreading threat