As new heat records are being recorded in Italy and fires are taking over forests in Spain, the world should prepare for "more intense" heat waves, reports the United Nations.
Extreme heat is being felt around the world, with Europe bracing for its second extreme heat wave. Last week's heatwave, called "Cerberus" after the three-headed guarding the gates of Hell in Greek mythology, is making way for a new one, dubbed "Charon" by Italian weather forecasters referencing the ferryman who carries souls to the Underworld.
"These phenomena will continue to intensify and the world should prepare for more intense heat waves," said John Nairn, an expert at the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) at a press briefing in Geneva. "The El Niño phenomenon, which started recently, will only strengthen the frequency and intensity of extreme heat waves."
Not just in southern Europe, but also in North America, Asia and North Africa, temperatures are expected to rise to over 40°C for several days this week. In northwest China, temperatures hit 52.2°C on Sunday, while in the US, California’s Death Valley also reached nearly 52°C on the same day.
"One of the striking phenomena we have observed is that the number of heat waves in the Northern Hemisphere has increased sixfold since the 1980s. There are no signs that this trend is abating," said Nairn. "I fear that our problems are not over and that these heat waves will have severe consequences for human health and livelihoods."
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Worldwide, the first week of this month (3 to 9 July) was the warmest week on record. The record for the warmest day on record was broken four times during that week, according to the WMO. Previously, June had already become the hottest month on record so far.
The heat coincides with the onset of El Niño, the natural phenomenon that warms the Pacific Ocean, said the WMO. It is expected that the global temperature will rise further and that more weather records will be broken.
