According to a BBC global analysis published on September 14, the number of days per year where temperatures exceeding 50 ° C have been recorded has doubled since the 1980s. From 14 days between 1980 and 2009, the number of days with peaks above 50 ° C rose to 26 between 2010 and 2019. Over the same period, temperatures approaching 45 ° C would have occurred, on average, two more weeks per year.
This new evidence of global warming could "be attributed 100% to the incineration of fossil fuels," according to Friederike Otto, co-director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.
As the
Slate
website reports
, on burning, carbon and hydrogen would react on contact with oxygen to produce heat.
"We must act quickly"
For now, these extreme temperatures are mainly observed in the Middle East and in the Gulf regions, but if man does not react, they could spread to the rest of the world.
In recent years, certain regions, such as the Far North of Europe, Canada or even the Arctic, have also recorded unusual heat peaks.
Episodes that could have serious consequences on buildings, roads, electrical systems, but also on health and the global economy.
“We have to act quickly.
Not only will these episodes of extreme heat become more severe and more frequent, but emergency response and recovery will become more difficult, ”warned Sihan Li, a climatology researcher at the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford.
According to BBC analyzes, temperatures have increased by an average of 0.5 ° C over the past decade.
An increase felt differently depending on the regions of the globe.
While the rise is around 1 ° C in Brazil or southern Africa, the Arctic and the Middle East have observed a rise of 2 ° C.
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