<
https://theconversation.com/summers-silent-killer-why-the-worlds-heatwaves-are-a-global-health-emergency-285849>
"Heat is no longer a future climate risk. It is already here.
Across continents, high temperatures are being pushed higher by forces acting
at once: human-caused warming, very warm oceans, dry soils, slow-moving
high-pressure weather systems and El Niño conditions that have now developed in
the tropical Pacific.
El Niño is a natural warming of part of the tropical Pacific that can shift
weather patterns around the world. It is not the cause of climate change, but
when it develops in a climate already warmed by greenhouse gas pollution, it
can add another push to global temperatures and regional extremes.
The science is clear. Greenhouse gases have raised the baseline, so heatwaves
now begin from a warmer starting point. Record ocean heat adds more energy to
the climate system. Dry ground can intensify heat, because less of the sun’s
energy goes into evaporating water from soil and plants, and more goes into
heating the air.
Weather patterns decide where that heat lands. A “heat dome” happens when a
high-pressure system settles over a region. Air sinks, clouds are suppressed
and temperatures can climb for days. The danger grows when nights remain hot,
because bodies, buildings and infrastructure get little chance to cool.
El Niño’s effects vary by region and season, so it will not explain every
heatwave in 2026. But it is now being added to long-term warming, and that
combination can raise the risk of more extreme heat, drought or heavy rainfall
in some regions, including parts of Asia, Australia and the Americas.
In the UK, Kew Gardens reached 35.1°C in late May, provisionally breaking the
national May temperature record for the second day in a row. The previous
record, before the 2026 heat, was 32.8°C, reached in 1922 and 1944.
Elsewhere, the same pattern is visible. Spring 2026 was the hottest spring
recorded in France since records began in 1900. In the United States, March
2026 was the warmest March on record for the contiguous US (the lower 48
states). India’s meteorological service issued an extended heatwave outlook
into early July for parts of northern, central and eastern India, while China’s
National Climate Center has forecast above-normal summer temperatures,
especially in southern China and Xinjiang in the north west. In Australia,
Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales have just had one of their ten warmest
autumns on record."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
