“Record-breaking Heatwaves and Regions at High Risk: New Research Analysis”

2023-04-28 05:15:00

A child stands on dry land in Bala Morghab District, Badghis Province, Afghanistan, October 2021./Hoshang Hashimi/AFP/Getty Images

2023.04.28 Fri posted at 14:15 JST

(CNN) Record-breaking heatwaves reported around the world could become even more intense and devastating, especially in unprepared countries and regions, new research suggests. rice field.

A team led by Professor Dan Mitchell, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Bristol in the UK, analyzed temperature data and climate models over the past 60 years or so to predict the possibility and location of record-breaking heatwaves in the future. Announced in communication.

The team identified Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Central America, including Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, as places at particular risk of heatwaves.

Mitchell said all three are likely to experience major heatwaves, but are less resilient to extreme weather due to rapidly growing populations and lack of healthcare and energy supplies. it is conceivable that.

The situation in Afghanistan, which faces serious social and economic problems, is particularly severe, and he points out that there are concerns that the damage will spread.

The adverse effects of heatwaves are wide-ranging, including air pollution, worsening droughts, more wildfires, and infrastructure damage. As a health hazard for residents, the risk of heat stroke, which can lead to permanent sequelae and even death, will also increase.

Several regions have already experienced record high temperatures this year. In March, temperatures were 10 degrees above normal in parts of Argentina, and April set new records for the highest temperature across much of Asia.

A boy on an abandoned boat on a dried up lake = Lake Atescatempa, Guatemala, Central America, May 2017

No place is safe from risk. About 30% of the regions the researchers examined experienced heatwaves between 1959 and 2021 that fell well outside of traditional norms and fell into “statistically improbable” territory.

Hundreds of people died in 2021, when a heatwave hit the northwest coast of the United States and Canada, smashing all-time record high temperatures.

In the village of Lytton, in western British Columbia, Canada, the temperature in June 2017 hit a record five degrees Celsius, approaching 50 degrees Celsius, and a few days later wildfires wiped out most of the village.

In 2021, a lingering heatwave will cause many wildfires in western Canada.=Fraser River Gorge, British Columbia, Canada, July 2, 2021./James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Parts of China, including Beijing, and European countries such as Germany and Belgium are also at high risk, the team said. Despite preparations for the worst, populated areas could be severely affected.

The research team is calling on governments around the world to prepare for an onslaught of heatwaves that far surpass past records, such as opening cooling centers with air conditioning and limiting outdoor working hours.

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