Whether it’s deadly flooding in Nova Scotia, fires across Europe or suffocating heat in the U.S. Southwest, experts say there’s almost no doubt: climate change is the culprit.
Human-induced climate change has played an “absolutely overwhelming” role in the extreme heat waves that have swept across North America, Europe and China this month, according to a study by World Weather Attribution, a global team of scientists that examines the role played by climate change in extreme weather.
“European and North American temperatures would have been virtually impossible without the effects of climate change,” said Izidine Pinto of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, one of the study’s authors, during a briefing with journalists. “In China it was around 50 times more likely to happen compared to the past.”
And for Canada specifically, there is a correlation between rising temperatures, wildfires and heavier rainfall, said Kent Moore, an atmospheric physics professor at the University of Toronto.
Rising temperatures lead to drier conditions, increasing the risk of wildfires, he said, but the warmer weather also augments the atmosphere’s ability to hold moisture, leading to heavier downpours that can cause flooding.
El Niño probably contributed to the additional heat in some regions, but rising greenhouse gases were the major factor, the scientists who wrote the global study said, and heat waves will become increasingly likely if emissions are not slashed.
They estimated that prolonged periods of extreme heat were likely to hit every two to five years if average global temperatures rise two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Average temperatures are currently estimated to have risen more than 1.1 degrees.
Here’s a roundup of the latest news about extreme heat and climate change from around the world.
On the Mediterranean: fires on both sides of the sea
Wildfires killed 34 people in Algeria and forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists from the Greek island of Rhodes as an intense summer heat wave scorched large areas of the Mediterranean. A Canadair plane fighting a fire on the Greek island of Evia crashed, with both pilots killed.
On the island of Rhodes, desperate residents, many with wet towels around their necks to stave off the scorching heat, used shovels to beat back flames approaching their homes, while firefighting planes and helicopters resumed water drops at first light.
Tiana Sumakovic, whose partner is Serbian basketball star and Philadelphia 76er Filip Petrusev, described frantic scenes as the pair escaped the blaze on vacation.
“The fire got very close and we had to run,” Sumakovic wrote, captioning videos of the fire. “We were choking on the smoke and ran as far as we could … we eventually made it to safety.”
Video captured Tuesday shows wildfires burning in Palermo, Sicily. Temperatures have been soaring, prompting Italian officials to put several cities on ‘red alert’ as people struggled with scorching weather.
The heat, with temperatures topping 40 C, is well in excess of what usually attracts tourists who flock to southern European beaches.
In some parts of eastern Sicily, temperatures rose to 47.6 C on Monday, close to a record European high of 48.8 C recorded on the island two years ago. So intense is the heat that Italy is preparing special measures to help construction and agricultural firms keep staff at home.
It was even hotter in North Africa, with temperatures of 49 C recorded in some cities in Tunisia.
Neighbouring Algeria deployed some 8,000 firefighters to bring its deadly fires under control, authorities said.
Malta, another major Mediterranean holiday destination, suffered a raft of power cuts across the country, affecting its largest hospital, after a weeklong heat wave caused underground distribution cables to overheat and fail.
Research published this month said as many as 61,000 people may have died in Europe’s sweltering heat waves last summer.
From the health of people to plants, the effects of recent heat waves around the world are being felt. Many have been suffering due to the wide-ranging impacts that heat can have on infrastructure and their way of life.
Responding to the damage caused by a dramatic overnight storm in Milan, the mayor of Italy’s financial capital said the cause was clear.
“I have been through 65 summers in my lifetime … and what I am seeing now is not normal, we can no longer deny it, climate change is changing our lives,” Mayor Giuseppe Sala said on social media.
In Canada: Nova Scotians worry about insurance
Amid an unprecedented year for insurance claims in the province because of post-tropical storm Fiona, wildfires and last weekend’s floods, some Nova Scotians are wondering whether the latest round of damage will be covered by their insurance policies.
It was only when the frequent bursts of lightning started that Jessica Hill saw that the materials from her and her husband’s planned small-scale farm and private campground in Scotch Village, N.S., were destined to float down the Herbert River.
The couple contacted their insurance company Saturday, but it was unclear what would be covered. They’ve also started a crowdfunding campaign to help them rebuild.
Lori MacLeod-Doyle of Lower Sackville, N.S., had about 70 centimetres of flooding in her basement, destroying boxes that contained paperwork and photo albums of her late husband and her father.
Randall Leighton tells CBC News of the rescue efforts to get people staying at his Nine Mile River, N.S., campground to safety after historic rainfall.
“Here we are three days later, almost, and still no answers as to what I should be doing, what I shouldn’t be doing,” said MacLeod-Doyle.
“I’ve been told to get rid of as much stuff out of the basement as possible by some people, and then other people have said don’t touch anything. I really don’t know what to do.”
Jennifer MacLeod, the president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia, encourages people to photograph the damage, make sure everything is well documented and then begin mitigating further damage.
Other recent heat coverage from CBC News:
In politics: IMF worried about ‘material risks’ of climate change
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday called for better co-ordinated efforts to address the causes of climate change, warning extreme weather is posing material risks to countries globally, especially developing economies already saddled with high debts.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said the case of Argentina, which has seen a prolonged financial crisis worsened by a ferocious drought that reduced agricultural exports by an estimated $20 billion US this year, showed how profoundly weather events could exacerbate existing strains.
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