A review by scientists published today, Tuesday, concluded that climate change due to human activity played a "significant without a doubt" role in the extreme heat waves that struck North America, Europe, and China this month. The extreme weather events throughout July caused damage around the globe as temperatures reached record levels in China, the United States, and Southern Europe, leading to wildfires, water shortages, and an increase in hospital admissions related to severe heat.
Earlier this week, hundreds of tourists were evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes fleeing wildfires caused by the record heat wave. A study prepared by the World Weather Attribution team, a global group of scientists investigating the relationship between climate change and extreme weather phenomena, suggests that without climate change due to human activity, the events this month would have been "extremely rare."
Azad Bin Toh, from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, who participated in the study, stated during a press conference: "It was practically impossible for temperatures to rise in Europe and North America without the impacts of climate change." He added: "In China, the occurrence is now closer to happening 50 times compared to before."
According to the World Weather Attribution team, the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations raised the temperature of the European heat wave by 2.5 degrees Celsius compared to what it would have been, while the heat wave in North America rose by two degrees Celsius and in China by one degree Celsius.
