The American newspaper (Washington Post) said that the continuous heat waves that the world is witnessing now, give a microcosm of what will happen in the future if global warming continues without efforts to curb it.
And the newspaper warned in its editorial that even if the world managed to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 percent - which is a threshold that scientists believe should not be exceeded - the severe weather events that people will experience will almost quadruple than they are now, according to the committee. United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
A temperature increase of more than 1.5% would be catastrophic, with unimaginable repercussions including famine, disease, migration, and lower levels of productivity and living standards around the world.
And the Washington Post pointed out that high heat waves this summer - and over the past years - have caused many dramatic weather events in the United States and around the world.
In Texas, for example, record temperatures have forced the company that operates the state's power grid to warn residents to cut back on energy use or risk blackouts.
And the US authorities have issued warnings to about 35 million people in the United States, due to the excessive rise in temperatures in the country.
Western Europe is also witnessing severe heat waves, as Spain is experiencing its second heat wave in less than a month, and the United Kingdom has issued the first warning in its history of a “severe heat” wave that will strike the country, and Italy has faced rising temperatures and a prolonged drought, as well. An avalanche attributed to climate change killed 11 people earlier this month.
In China, at least 86 cities have issued heat alerts, and Nanjing officials have opened air raid shelters for local residents fleeing the scorching heat.
The American newspaper warned of the far-reaching catastrophic effects of these weather patterns, and said that extreme heat waves pose a particular threat to the global food supply, which is now under pressure from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
She also indicated that high temperatures cause the emergence of many health problems, and are linked to high crime rates, anxiety and depression.
A 2021 analysis by the Atlantic Council estimated that reduced worker productivity due to extreme heat is costing the US economy $100 billion annually, a number that could double by 2030.
The Washington Post concluded that cutting greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to a greener economy, at the scale and pace needed, will require considerable creativity, innovation and political courage.
But the cost of failing to do so will be even more difficult, as it means that we have a future in which climate disasters, with all their damage and the instability that come with them, will become the new normal around the world.