Earth temperature was recorded to be heating at a rate of 1.1 degrees Celsius (°C) since pre-industrial times, with  2011-2020 being the hottest decade di recorded.  According to the United Nations (PBB), in this century, the earth is most likely to experience an increase in temperature around 2.7°C.  Recently,g elombang heat has broken records  linked to climate change to make extreme cuaca above normal.

Heatwaves are a period of unusually high temperatures that exceed the daily average maximum temperature with hot weather conditions. In Malaysia, a heatwave is defined when the maximum daily temperature exceeds 37°C  for 3 consecutive days.  Gelombang heat becomes more frequent due to climate change, which asglobal temperatures rise over time, this phenomenon is expected to get worse.

Climatemigration is seeing more and more record-breaking heatwaves, causing extreme temperatures to become faster than most climate model forecasts, as is the case in Europe today. Computer-generated models estimate that, greenhouse gas emissions increase the temperature in the heatwave in  July by 2°C, but in current conditions, the heatwave is 4°C warmer.  In Britain, heatwaves emanating from climate change are expected to rise at least 10 times higher, with 34 locations in Britain setting a record high on July 20, with the east of England recording an all-time high of 40.3°C.

A total of 68 cities in China have alsoissued red alert with temperatures forecast to exceed 40°C causing the roofs of buildings to melt and roads to inflate forcing residents to shelter in underground shelters equipped with WiFi, books, water machines and even microwave ovens.  Shanghai recorded a temperature  of 40.9°C,  the highest since  1873, forcing Shanghai wildlife park staff to use eight tonnes of ice a day just to keep the animals  cool.

This phenomenon is very alarming, because, if carbon emissions are not reduced quickly, this phenomenon can be worse than expected. Among them,prolonged heat groans can result in more hospital cases, a sharp loss of productivity in construction and reduced agricultural produce as well as damageto its infrastructure.  The International Labor Organization (ILO) states that persistent temperatures around 33-34°C can result in the average worker losing 50 percent of working capacity.  It is estimated that by 2030, the heatwave could reduce the number of hours worked worldwide by over two percent, equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs, at a cost of 2.4 trillion dollars (RM10.56 trillion).

In fact, ifheatwaves appear during the dry season, episodes  of forest fires can occur on a large scale caused by plants and drying soil.  Forestwildfires have been reported in several European countries including Spain and Croatia to burn homes and threaten livelihoods as much of Europe faces extreme hot weather reaching 40⁰C.  Thefire in some parts of France, Spain and Portugal has destroyed more forests this year than in 2021, which is 517,881 hectares or the equivalent  of the national area   of Trinidad and Tobago.

Extreme heat also affects human health quickly, especially to high-risk groups such as children, the elderly and those with disease.  Extreme heatwaves can cause lower blood pressure and whencombined with sweating conditions, can cause dehydration heat exhaustion, heat cramps and heat stroke that worsen existing medical conditions.  The World Meteorological Organization said high temperatures caused nearly 10 per cent of the two million deaths caused by extreme weather from 1970 to 2019 with atotal  of 185,000 deaths recorded between 2010 and 2019.

Camilo Mora, professor at the University of Hawaii, noted, nearly half the global population will be exposed to "death heat" of 20 days or more each year by 2100, even if global san san refinersare capped below 2°C, the basic target of the Paris Agreement.  Our planet is facing a climate emergency.  The result ofthe heatwaves that took place prompted all parties to act and show commitment in implementing the Paris Agreement to address climate change.

Date of Input: 02/09/2022 | Updated: 02/09/2022 | nooryati