A new study warns that the record-breaking heat wave that has crippled many parts of the U.S. and Europe this summer will likely be the norm within the next three decades. Chinese climate researchers say that blistering heat waves will increase by more than 30% as we approach 2050.
According to Study Finds, the burning of fossil fuel and other human activities are the main drivers of global warming. This summer’s heat waves have set unprecedented records in the U.K. where temperatures soared above 104 degrees Fahrenheit on July 19.
Wildfires have destroyed parts of Europe and the U.S., where more than one-third of the population is under heat warnings. Just a year ago, 1,500 people died during a late June heat wave that more than doubled average temperatures in the United States and Canada.
In a news release, the scientists predict that temperatures will continue to rise due to greenhouse gases.
“An extraordinary and unprecedented heat wave swept western Europe in late June 2021, resulting in hundreds of deaths and a massive die-off of sea creatures off the coast as well as horrific wildfires,” said lead study author Chunzai Wang, head of the State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Science. “In this paper, we studied the physical processes of internal variability, such as atmospheric circulation patterns, and external forcing, such as anthropogenic greenhouse gases.”
Computer simulations found greenhouse gases are the main reason for increased temperatures in the past and will continue to be the main contributor to global warming. Patterns of circulation in the atmosphere describe air flow and influence surface temperatures around the globe. Both are influenced by natural warming by the sun, earth’s rotation, and intrinsic atmospheric processes, says Study Finds.
A study by scientists at Cornell University last year found that 99% of relevant scientific data suggests that climate change is mainly due to human actions.
Wang says that “if appropriate measures are not taken, the occurrence probability of extreme heat waves will increase and further impact ecological balance, as well as sustainable social and economic development.”