International
Climate crisis exposed people to extra six weeks of dangerous heat in 2024
Analysis shows fossil fuels are supercharging heatwaves, leaving millions prone to deadly temperatures
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A man uses a branch to extinguish a fire during a wildfire in Nea Penteli near Athens in August 2024. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images |
The climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heatwaves around the world.
The effects of human-caused global heating were far worse for some people, an analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central has shown. Those in Caribbean and Pacific island states were the hardest hit. Many endured about 150 more days of dangerous heat than they would have done without global heating, almost half the year.
Nearly half the world’s countries endured at least two months of high-risk temperatures. Even in the least affected places, such as the UK, US and Australia, the carbon pollution from fossil fuel burning has led to an extra three weeks of elevated temperatures. [continue]
