brutal heat wave This year, it has swept all of Asia. became even more extreme for Human-induced climate crisisThat's what new research has found.
since the beginning of Aprilfrom dozens of countries in Asia India to Philippines Record high temperatures continue, school closure and issue an emergency health alert for the entire region.
This is the third consecutive year Billions of people in Asia are experiencing intense heat waves It broke records and killed dozens of people.
A study conducted by World Weather Attribution (WWA) scientists found that without the climate crisis caused by oil burning, this year's heat wave would be „virtually impossible“ in the Philippines, and would be worse than other countries in South Asia and the West. It turns out that in Asia it would not have been so extreme. coal and gas.
Last month was the hottest April on record globally, breaking that record for the 11th month in a row. Temperatures exceeded 40°C in many countries in AsiaPhilippines and Bangladesh closes schools. Dozens of heatwave-related deaths and prolonged drought were also reported.
Ruins of a 300-year-old town appear in the Philippines Dams have dried up and hundreds of thousands of fish have died in Vietnam due to falling water levels.
Five people have died in India due to the heat wave, with temperatures reaching 46 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam broke records for the hottest day in April, while the Philippines experienced its hottest night on record.
More than 30 deaths were recorded in Thailand and 28 in Bangladesh due to the heat wave.
Scientists say these losses are just the tip of the iceberg, as heat-related deaths and their effects are vastly underreported.
To quantify the impact of anthropogenic warming on temperature extremes across Asia, scientists used peer-reviewed methods to analyze weather data and climate models to find out how this type of phenomenon affects today's climate. , we compared how it changed compared to the day when there was about 1.2 degrees of global warming. Cool climate before the industrial revolution.
The analysis focused on the periods when heat was most dangerous in the two regions. These are the 3-day average and 15-day average of daily maximum temperatures in West Asia, which includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. Highest daily temperature in the Philippines.
Scientists also analyzed the possible impact of El Niño, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings more heat to Asia.
This study looked at historical weather data for a region. south asia This includes India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
Scientists have discovered that West Asia, also known as the Middle East, is experiencing more frequent April heatwaves with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius due to global warming caused by human activity.
In the current climate, where temperatures are rising by 1.2 degrees Celsius, similar heat waves are expected to occur about once every 10 years, making them about five times more likely and 1.7 degrees warmer.
Scientists have warned that extreme temperatures in West Asia could become more frequent and intense in the future. If global warming reaches 2 degrees Celsius as predicted, similar heat waves will occur about once every five years, and it will be one degree hotter.
The El Niño phenomenon was found to have no effect on high temperatures in West Asia.
In the Philippines, similar heat waves are expected to occur about once every 10 years during El Niño events, and about once every 20 years during other non-El Niño years.
Without human-induced climate change, such events would have been virtually impossible, even during El Niño conditions, scientists found.
Overall, climate change has made this year's heat wave one degree warmer, and El Niño has made it an additional 0.2 degrees warmer.
If global warming reaches 2 degrees, similar heat waves will occur in the Philippines every two to three years, making the country 0.7 degrees hotter.
Similar 30-day heatwaves are expected to occur in South Asia about once every 30 years. However, historical weather data shows that this is already about 45 times more likely due to the climate crisis, with temperatures rising by 0.85 degrees.
Analysis of historical weather data also found that similar heatwaves are twice as likely to occur during an El Niño event.
The study highlights how the climate crisis is making life difficult for people in Asia, who live in poverty and are dealing with the effects of war.
in GazaMany of the 1.7 million displaced people live in improvised tents that trap heat and have limited access to medical care, clean drinking water and ways to stay cool.
„Heatwaves have always happened, but the extra heat from oil, gas and coal emissions is killing many people,“ said Dr Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London. Ta.
Beyond the south, Southeast AsiaHundreds of millions of people living in informal housing and working outdoors are affected by the extreme heat, including farmers, construction workers, and street vendors.
A UNICEF spokesperson has already warned that 243 million children will be exposed to hotter and longer heatwaves this summer, putting them at risk of „a host of heat-related illnesses and even death“. It was ringing an alarm.
Scientists are calling for urgent heat action plans and rapid cuts in carbon pollution to stop temperatures from rising further.