When a heat wave occurs, the solution is not as easy as turning on the air conditioner and then instantly cooling off. Heat waves are an environmental problem that creates life-threatening conditions.
India and Pakistan, where 21% of the world's population live, are currently in the midst of a deadly heatwave. As the climate crisis rages on, the more vulnerable populations in developing countries will continue to bear the brunt of the consequences.
Quoted from Inverse, Tuesday (17/5/2022) according to a recent study, more extreme heat waves may have occurred unnoticed and recorded by scientists. Researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK reanalyzed climate data from the 1950s onwards.
Worryingly, the June 2021 events are among the eight worst heatwaves since then, with others spreading across the globe. The findings were published last week in the journal Science Advances.
Using a combination of available data and climate models, the latest report details some of the worst heatwaves worldwide that have gone unnoticed, including the worst in Southeast Asia in 1998.
The researchers were looking not only for the largest number in terms of temperature or duration but also the so-called heatwave for a given region. For example, summer temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius in Arizona might be common, but not in British Columbia, where the heat last June hit 50 degrees Celsius. According to the Coroners Service, nearly 600 people in the region died of heat-related deaths between June 18 and August 12, 2021.
"Looking globally gives us a different picture of what's happening and allows us to put future events into better context, because even if one region doesn't have a heatwave, we can show that other parts of the world may already be experiencing it. similar," said Vikki Thompson, senior research fellow at the University of Bristol's School of Geographical Sciences.
Rising Earth's temperature is getting serious attention, as heat waves can destroy communities and the environment.
"Literally, communities started to burn. When it was very hot and very dry, we had wildfires, some of the cities that appeared on the map were literally on fire," said Robert McLeman, professor of geography and environmental studies at the University of Wilfrid Laurier.
Cities like British Columbia, which rarely experience such extreme heat, do not have the infrastructure such as large refrigeration centers or central air conditioning to alleviate the 'suffering' of their residents.
McLeman says that once the temperature reaches around 40 degrees Celsius, it's not safe to be outside. With such hot temperatures, manual labor and time outside burden the body exponentially more. Those who live alone are especially vulnerable because they may not be able to ask for help in dire times.
The study also highlights a population that has received less attention. Part of the reason why there is more information about climate in North America and Western Europe, is that that's where a lot of climate scientists live. As a result, large chunks of data end up being lost from several countries, or even entire regions of the continent.
"We had to leave parts of Africa because the data set was not in line with what was happening. There wasn't enough observational data from them," he said.
If there are more extreme heat events that scientists aren't aware of, some may wonder, doesn't that mean the climate isn't actually warming, but is inaccurately recorded?
This is where mathematical modeling comes in, Thompson and McLeman say. The researchers built their model based on the observational data at their disposal to calculate the probability of a weather event at a given point in history in a given region.
To test the accuracy of their model, the researchers made "predictions" about the weather over a period of time that had occurred and for which they had data. They can then compare the model with the observed data.
Thompson hopes future research will target areas with changing climates. He also focuses on the impact of sanitation and rainfall on Ethiopia, Uganda and Nepal, so he hopes to provide more clarity on some of the less-attentioned countries.
Meanwhile, McLeman wants to see progress in infrastructure research and urban planning before the next heat wave. "How do we build our infrastructure to deal with these temperature extremes, as it will become more and more common, especially in areas where we are not really used to such extreme temperatures," he concluded.
