Here's How Bad The Heat Wave Has Been Around The World
The world is feeling the heat from climate change, with heat waves making life unbearable — or deadly — around the world. But just how bad has it been? Here's a roundup of some of the worst devastation heat waves around the world have caused this summer:
Greece Just Experienced Its Worst Forest Fire In Over A Decade
More than 80 people were killed after a wildfire spread through Mati, Greece earlier this week.
Over 70 People Have Been Killed By The Heatwave In Canada
In Canada's Quebec province alone, over 70 deaths have been linked to the heat wave.
Most of the people who died as the region reached temperatures up to 95 degrees are elderly men and women living alone in apartments with no air conditioning, and many had chronic health conditions.
[NPR]
Britain Has Turned From Green To Brown In Satellite Images
The heat wave — the longest Britain has experienced since 1976 — has changed the country's topography from green to a dry brown.
Japan Declares Its Heat Wave A 'Natural Disaster'
The unprecedented heat wave killed 65 people in Japan in one week while another 22,647 people were hospitalized due to the extreme weather.
"We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas," said Motoaki Takekawa, a weather agency official. The heatwave "is fatal, and we recognize it as a natural disaster," he added.
Wildfires Have Been Raging Through The Arctic Circle
No, you didn't misread the headline. It's so hot right now that even the Arctic Circle is on fire.
Ouargla, Algeria Reached The Hottest Temperature Ever Recorded In Africa
Earlier this month, weather reports from Ouargla, Algeria showed that temperatures had risen to 51.3 degrees Celsius (123.4 degrees Fahrenheit), an all-time high for the continent.
In statistics parlance, it was "3.5 to 4 standard deviations from normal, meaning it was highly unusual" according to Capital Weather Gang meteorologist Jason Samenow. So conditions on the ground and in the atmosphere seem to indicate the area was primed for record-setting heat.
[Earther]
Dam Collapse Affects Lives Of Thousands In Laos
Torrential rainstorms caused a catastrophic dam collapse in southern Laos that has killed at least 20 people and made more than 6,600 people homeless.
Texas, Which Is Already Hot, Is Setting Records
Temperatures are expected to hit 120 degrees in places, while multiple cities have set heat record:
Temperatures in some Central Texas cities set all-time record highs Monday as summer settled deep in the heart of the state. The National Weather Service said Waco reached 114 degrees around 5 p.m., beating the city's previous all-time record of 112 degrees set Aug. 11, 1969.
[CBS News]
Parts Of Southeast Asia Are At Risk Of Becoming Uninhabitable
[A]s many of South Asia's already-scorching cities get even hotter, scientists and economists are warning of a quieter, more far-reaching danger: Extreme heat is devastating the health and livelihoods of tens of millions more. If global greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current pace, they say, heat and humidity levels could become unbearable, especially for the poor.