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heatwaves
'Time for Urgent Action Is Right Now': Summer 2024 Was Hottest on Record
"If you keep doing the same thing, you cannot expect to get any different result," said the director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. "Unless we limit greenhouse gases, we will only see an exacerbation of these temperatures."
Sep 06, 2024
Scientists with the European Union's climate service said Friday that Earth experienced its hottest summer on record for the second consecutive year in 2024 as unprecedented and deadly heatwaves scorched large swaths of the planet, intensifying the urgency of large-scale policy changes to phase out the fossil fuels that are driving temperatures to alarming new heights.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said the three-month period between June and August saw global-average temperatures that were 0.69°C, or 1.24°F, higher than the average summer temperatures seen from 1991 to 2020.
"During the past three months of 2024, the globe has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record, and the hottest boreal summer on record," said C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess. "This string of record temperatures is increasing the likelihood of 2024 being the hottest year on record."
"The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense, with more devastating consequences for people and the planet, unless we take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Burgess added.
Temperatures in Europe were 1.54°C above the 1991-2020 average, a record temperature surge that had deadly consequences in Greece, Italy, and other nations.
But The Washington Post's Sarah Kaplan noted that the consequences of the record-shattering summer heat "were felt by people on every continent, from world-class athletes competing in the Paris Olympics to refugees fleeing from wars."
She continued:
Wildfires fueled by heat and drought raged through the Brazilian Pantanal, a vital wetland known to store vast amounts of carbon. A turbocharged monsoon triggered landslides that killed hundreds of people in India's Kerala state. The Atlantic Ocean saw its earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, while deadly floods have wreaked havoc from Italy to Pakistan to Nigeria to China."
It was a summer of unrelenting humidity and heat too extreme for the human body to withstand. In June, at least 1,300 pilgrims visiting the Muslim holy city of Mecca died amid temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Another 125 people were reported dead in Mexico during a July streak of exceedingly hot nights that researchers say was made 200 times as likely because of climate change. And in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, one of the world's northernmost inhabited areas, August temperatures soared more than 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) above the previous record.
Carlo Buontempo, the director of C3S, told the Post that "if you keep doing the same thing, you cannot expect to get any different result."
"Unless we limit greenhouse gases," Buontempo added, "we will only see an exacerbation of these temperatures."
The original version of this article included inaccurate temperature conversions.
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After 100 Days of 100°F, Sanders Says 'Climate Emergency Demands a Massive-Scale Mobilization'
"This is a moral imperative," said the senator as historic heat continued in Phoenix, Arizona.
Sep 05, 2024
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday evening issued yet another call for a major mobilization to take on the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis in response to a new record in Phoenix, Arizona: 100 straight days of the temperature hitting at least 100°F.
"100 straight days of 100-degree heat," Sanders (I-Vt.) said on social media, sharing a report from The Washington Post. "The heatwave has killed at least 150 people this summer in Phoenix alone."
"The climate emergency demands a massive-scale mobilization," stressed the senator, a longtime advocate for a swift, just transition away from oil and gas. "There is no choice. This is a moral imperative."
The death toll comes from the Post, which noted that in 2023, the hottest year on record globally, "heat deaths increased 50% from 2022, reaching a record of 645 people in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. This year, 150 heat deaths have been confirmed by the government and an additional 440 deaths are under investigation."
Increasingly deadly extreme heat is a national issue. Research published last month in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Associationshows that heat-related deaths in the United States rose 117% between 1999 and 2023, with the highest rates recorded in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas.
After the 100-day mark on Tuesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said Wednesday that "with the high temperature exceeding 110°F at Phoenix Sky Harbor this afternoon, the number of days of 110°F+ high temperatures for the year now ties last year's record number of 110°F+ highs at 55 days. Expect a new record to be set tomorrow (forecasted highs of 110-115°F)."
The NWS warned Thursday that "unseasonably hot conditions are expected to persist into next week," projecting temperatures between 108-114°F in the Arizona city through Monday.
As the Arizona Republicreported earlier this week:
Not only was this the hottest summer on record in Phoenix, but in Flagstaff, Winslow, Kingman Douglas, and Tucson too.
"For most of the state, it's looking like the hottest summer on record," said Sean Benedict, the lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Phoenix. "There were several locations around Arizona that set the record for the hottest summer."
Climate Centralpointed out Tuesday that the extreme heat in and around Phoenix was "made at least four to five times MORE likely to occur (yes, even in early September) due to human-caused climate change."
As communities around the world have endured intense heat throughout 2024, scientists have warned it could break the 2023 record and become the new hottest year in human history. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said last month that the most recent July was just barely the second-warmest July globally—ending a streak that lasted from June 2023 to June 2024, during which each month was the hottest on record.
"Globally, July 2024 was almost as warm as July 2023, the hottest month on record," C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess said at the time. "July 2024 saw the two hottest days on record. The overall context hasn't changed, our climate continues to warm. The devastating effects of climate change started well before 2023 and will continue until global greenhouse gas emissions reach net-zero."
Although C3S has not yet released its official findings for last month, Agence France-Pressereported Tuesday that the agency's preliminary data show that "August 2024 should be on a par with last year's record 16.82°C (62.28°F)."
The C3S findings slightly conflict with those of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which found that the latest July "was Earth's warmest July on record, extending the streak of record-high monthly global temperatures to 14 successive months." NOAA also hasn't yet released its data for August.
What climate experts agree on is that much more must be done to address the crisis created by fossil fuels. As World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in response to this summer's findings: "Climate adaptation alone is not enough. We need to tackle the root cause and get serious about reducing record levels of greenhouse gas emissions."
In addition to transitioning from fossil fuels to green energy, some have called for going after corporate giants that continue to rake in record profits from their planet-wrecking products. In June, Public Citizen unveiled a legal memo detailing how local or state prosecutors could bring criminal charges against Big Oil for deaths from extreme heat—using Arizona as an example.
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To Honor Labor Day, Ensure Workers Have Basic Heat Protections
Currently, no federal standard exists, and only five states—California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington—have statewide heat safety requirements.
Sep 02, 2024
Ronald Silver II, a sanitation worker in Baltimore, won’t be spending this Labor Day weekend with his family. On August 2, during a sweltering 100°F heatwave, Silver died while working a shift in a city garbage truck.
His death was preventable. In July, following worker complaints, Baltimore’s Inspector General (IG) reviewed conditions in the city’s Department of Public Works. Employees, the IG found, “do not have adequate access to water, ice, or fans to combat intense summer heat,” as reported by The Baltimore Sun.
This problem goes far beyond Baltimore. Every year, tens of millions of U.S. workers in both indoor and outdoor settings face the dangers of extreme heat.
As our planet continues to warm, our workplaces will become even hotter.
Climate change means rising global temperatures and also increased humidity, which interferes with the evaporation of sweat, the body’s natural cooling mechanism. And because temperatures are also now higher at night, it’s more difficult for workers to recover by resting up and cooling down after long hours.
The consequences are severe. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which develop with little warning, are becoming more common. Baltimore’s medical examiner found that Silver died from hyperthermia, the most severe form of heat stroke, which can lead to multiple, fatal organ failures.
Public Citizen projects that extreme heat kills about 2,000 workers annually, and another 170,000 suffer heat-related injuries and illnesses. These numbers are certainly an underestimate, as heat may contribute to heart attacks or respiratory failures that are not always recorded as heat-related.
As we observe Labor Day, a holiday intended to honor American workers, it’s clear that we need basic heat protections. Currently, no federal standard exists, and only five states—California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington—have statewide heat safety requirements. In the remaining 45 states, which account for 80% of the U.S. population, workers are out of luck.
Despite the danger, some employers continue to resist the implementation of a heat standard, arguing that it would be burdensome or costly. However, this shortsighted stance is actually bad for business.
According to one scientific estimate, lost productivity due to heat-related illness, for outdoor workers alone, costs the U.S. economy more than $90 billion a year. Most importantly, protecting workers from extreme heat not only boosts productivity, it saves lives. Ignoring basic safety measures devalues the very people who drive our economy.
Here’s the good news: Workers are looking out for themselves.
First, a process is underway to create a federal heat standard. That’s because the Biden administration is responding to demands for a heat standard, spurred by a petition from unions, public health groups, and safety advocates—including my organization, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH). A proposed nationwide standard, which requires employers to provide training on how to recognize heat illness as well as delivering access to rest, water, and shade, was introduced in July and will soon be open for public comment.
Getting new federal regulations in place takes a while, and will face inevitable legal challenges from employers. Workers are not willing to risk getting sick or dying during more summers of grueling heat.
That’s why labor and safety groups are also successfully advocating for new local and state heat safety rules. In California, a new standard now protects 1.4 million indoor workers, who were previously excluded. The Arizona Heat Coalition has secured local ordinances in Phoenix, Tucson, and Pima County, mandating access to rest, shade, and water for contractors. This includes workers at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport, where temperatures can exceed 110°F.
Meanwhile, in Maryland, a proposed statewide heat safety standard, developed with input from National COSH advisors, has been published and will likely be in effect by next summer. Safety expert Jordan Barab notes that if such a standard had been in place this summer, Ronald Silver might still be alive: “He would have had access to water and rest breaks. If he had gotten sick anyway, his trained co-workers would have immediately recognized the signs of heat illness and implemented the emergency response program.”
As our planet continues to warm, our workplaces will become even hotter. Here’s a prediction that’s more reliable than any weather report: Workers will continue to turn up the heat, demanding action to save lives from employers and elected officials.
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