Climate change caused by human activity has intensified the worst extreme events of the last 20 years and has contributed to the deaths of 350,000 people, according to an analysis published today by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) organization.
The analysis highlights that climate change They are already “incredibly dangerous with 1.3°C warming” (degrees Celsius) and describes the actions necessary to save lives in the face of worsening extreme weather conditions.
The WWA took into account the heat wave that hit Europe in 2003 (47.3ºC in Amareleja), which caused the death of more than 70,000 people.
According to a statement from the institution, it was the “first undeniable proof that climate change” was a reality that was affecting people’s lives and It is not an “abstract threat”.
It was the first time, WWA says, that scientists clearly identified the “Fingerprints” of climate change on a specific weather phenomenon, marking the beginning of a new field of research, known as “attribution science.”
But others followed, the organization recalls, such as tropical cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 100,000 people and destroyed entire communities in Myanmar in 2008.
The factor of climate change in extreme phenomena It wasn’t always measurable.But the WWA, created in 2014, provides scientific evidence on whether and to what extent climate change influenced a given disaster.
WWA is made up of researchers from various scientific and university institutions and has protocols and alliances with local experts that allow rapid evaluation of extreme climate phenomena around the world, also using climate models and specialized literature.
The analysis of the 10 deadliest climate events since the 2003 heat wave included three tropical cyclones in the Indo-Pacific (Sidr, Nargis and Haiyan), four heat waves in Europe, two intense precipitation events (one in India , another in the Mediterranean) and a drought in the Horn of Africa.
“On the whole, These phenomena caused more than 350,000 deaths.. And in all of them we find the traces of climate change,” highlights the organization, which warns that hundreds of thousands of unreported deaths have not been counted.
And he adds: “We know that there is no natural disaster. It is the vulnerability and exposure of the population that transforms meteorological risks into humanitarian disasters.” And he also warns that there are fewer and fewer meteorological risks that can be classified purely as “natural.”
“Our work, together with the scientific literature, now shows that with every ton of coal, oil and gas burned, all heat waves and the overwhelming majority of heavy rainfall, droughts and tropical cyclones become more intense,” warns.
The organization highlights that the world’s failure to move away from fossil fuels “is causing dramatic changes in extreme weather conditions, contributing to hundreds of thousands of deaths and affecting millions of people.”
And on the current 3°C warming trajectory by the end of the century, the risks “will only get worse.”
Early warnings of extreme events and early action mechanisms (evacuations, for example) can make the difference between life and death.
But some events, the study points out, exceed the preparation capacity of any government. Four of the 10 deadliest weather events There were heat waves in Europe.a rich and relatively well prepared region.
At least 158 people died in the Spanish province of Valencia, in a count that has not yet been completed, after a violent storm last Tuesday.
Heavy rains were 12% more intense and twice as likely than when the climate had not yet warmed, WWA reported today in a rapid preliminary analysis.
Source: Observadora
