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Study: Half of the world experienced one more month of summer in 2024

Politiko 2025-05-31 17:10:40

Study: Half of the world experienced one more month of summer in 2024

The Earth is increasingly burning under the influence of global warming caused by human activities, while a recent study has found that half of the world's population, approximately four billion people, has experienced at least 30 more days of extreme heat over the past year, compared to the base period 1991-2020.

The study was published on the eve of World Day of Action Against Heat, on June 2, and comes as a stark warning about the growing impact of climate change. The research was carried out by an international collaboration of scientists from World Weather Attribution, Climate Central and the International Red Cross, who analyzed the period from May 2024 to May 2025.

According to the study, 67 episodes of extreme heat were recorded in this one-year period, all linked to the impacts of human-induced global warming. These days of extreme heat were defined as those in which temperatures exceeded 90% of the average temperatures of the years 1991-2020 in a given location.

"With every ton of CO₂ released and every barrel of oil burned, heat waves will affect more and more people," warns climatologist Friederike Otto of Imperial College London, author of the report.

One of the hardest-hit areas was Aruba, an island in the Caribbean, where residents experienced 187 days of extreme heat, 45 days more than would be expected in a world without global warming.

While the global average temperature in 2024 symbolically exceeded the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C limit, the consequences of this increase are being felt more strongly than ever. The year 2024 was confirmed as the hottest ever recorded, surpassing the record of 2023, and the start of 2025 has also been alarming, with the hottest January in history.

The consequences are not only climatic, but also health. In Europe, extreme heat claimed the lives of more than 61,000 people during the summer of 2022. However, in many developing countries, accurate data is lacking. According to the authors of the study, a large number of deaths from heat are wrongly categorized as a result of other diseases, such as heart or respiratory diseases.

The report raises the alarm about the lack of preparedness and response in most countries, especially in the poorest areas of the world, where the impacts of heatwaves are often not properly documented and addressed.

As temperatures continue to rise and heat waves become longer and more intense, the study calls for urgent measures to reduce the use of fossil fuels and strengthen health and civil protection systems against these extreme climatic conditions.

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