THE sizzling heat that killed hundreds and affected day-to-day lives worldwide was impossible to happen without climate change.
What caused the abnormal heat the world is experiencing today?
A group of scientists from the World Weather Attribution spent days and hours to figure out and prove the answer to this question.
What they found out is somewhat expected but still surprising in some aspects.
Using computer models and ground observations, the experts used science-based knowledge and technology to trace the footprint of heat-trapping gases in the affected area.
According to scientists, the abnormal heat in South Asia was found to be 45 times more likely to happen.
In West Asia, El Niño did not influence the heatwave in the region but climate change caused temperatures to soar.
In the Philippines, researchers concluded that this year’s heat wave would have been impossible without decades of burning fossil fuels.
In Palestine and Israel, climate change made the heat wave five times more likely than it would have been in pre-industrial times.
Heavy rainfall and droughts have also become more extreme in many parts of the world, affecting critical industries like agriculture, and forcing governments to spend millions or even billions of dollars, for recovery efforts and aid.
The extreme temperatures killed more than 60 people in Thailand for the first five months of 2024 due to heatstroke.
